Penumbra
by VanillaMetal
Summary: The eight of you made it off that dreadful mountain alive, but you couldn't forget about Josh. Daring to venture back, you attempt to find him and bring him back safe. But the Josh you once knew isn't there anymore... Josh/Wendigo!JoshxReader. Contains mild themes of Chris/Matt/MikexReader
1. Prologue

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Prologue  
**

" _Don't move..."  
_ " _Don't fucking move a muscle..."_

Mike's words from two months ago, on that fateful night in the cabin, echoed fresh in your mind. With trembling legs and clammy hands, you remained pressed to the natural stone wall like a magnet on a fridge, refusing to budge until that...

... _Thing_...

-moved.

There was just one thing which tempted you to leave your hiding spot, and approach the hunched figure. Something half human, half demonic- fully terrifying. What tempted you was a simple fact. No more. No less.

You knew who it was.

This was no ordinary Wendigo.  
You knew this Wendigo.  
This Wendigo had teased you and taunted you on many an occasion when he had been completely human, but always in good jest. Everything had been in good jest, until that faithful night, that you all decided, like fools, to return to the one place that started it all.

Well, you know what they say. We look back on the past with rose-tinted glasses. We never see clearly, through the fog of what we _wish_ had happened instead.

 _I wish they'd never tried to prank her.  
_ _I wish I'd been able to talk them out of it.  
_ _I wish I'd been able to save them..._

If only. If only Hannah and Beth had lived. If only they hadn't toppled down that icy cliff, cracked their backs and skulls on the jagged rocks below. If only Hannah hadn't awoken, and been struck with such desperate hunger. If only she hadn't given in, and dug her sister up, feasting on her flesh.

And if only...Josh hadn't tried to get his revenge for it all.

You could understand. You could empathise, or maybe...sympathise? To a degree anyway. After all, you had all known of Josh's problems long before any of this had happened. To have his sisters taken from him, on top of everything else that happened, was no doubt torturous for the poor guy.

It explained why he was willing to go to such elaborate lengths, to punish you all for it. Perhaps he had even intended for Mike to lose two of his fingers. Though it was clear he _hadn't_ intended for Jess to die.

And it was clear, he _hadn't_ considered the fact, that another set of villains were meddling in his little game.

Now he had become one of them. He was around the corner, just beyond the stone wall you cowered behind. Hunched over a dead body, producing sickening sounds- cracking, tearing, squelching – as he bit into limbs and pulled apart organs, all just to satisfy the gnawing, ravenous hunger in his belly. He had held on long enough, too long. When he had found the old man his...rabid instincts had taken over, and before he knew it, he was eating another human.

What did it matter though? He had been down there for so long, stuck in these wretched mines, that he had turned into the very monster he feared in the first place. It was disturbingly perfect. He and Hannah, and the other Wendigos. A perfect little family.

Hannah had managed to survive the fire. Good thing too, since she was his only companion down here since his friends had abandoned him. Her and Beth's disembodied head. Because he was only half-turned, he didn't exactly get along with the other Wendigos that inhabited this stifling place, but Hannah was always there for him.

Josh didn't want to be like the other ones. He didn't want to _look like that_. All fucked up eyes and teeth. Bald heads, barely skinned bodies. It was as if he was surrounded by a bunch of Gollum clones, and even his dear sister was no different. When he laid his eyes upon her, he saw nothing he recognised, except for the signature tattoo on her arm.

You peeked around the wall. Just for another glimpse, since he was only part way through that body, and judging by how ferociously he was munching down on it, you wondered how long it might take for him to leave. Not that you really wanted that though...you had come down here to find him.

But seeing what he was like now...fear had struck you. You were trapped, and you just wanted to leave.  
Even if it meant you couldn't save him. Besides, it seemed he was beyond saving anyhow.

For you saw a flash of his face, as he tugged at a particularly tough piece of muscle, pulling it taut between his teeth. For the most part, Josh still looked like Josh. You had always found him handsome, always had a secret crush on him (which you suspected he knew, since he would deliberately tease you in ways that suggested it). Half of him still _was_ handsome. It was Josh's face, and body. Just a little roughed up, bruised, cut in a few places, dark shadows around his eyes.

One eye. For the other half of his face was where it got horrifying. One eye seemed a lot wider than the other, like it was constantly staring, and had gone a milky shade of white-blue. His jaw was ruined, the skin of his lips peeled back and stretched to accommodate massive, sharp teeth. He could still close his mouth, but when he did, it looked like someone had dragged a knife right along his face from cheek to cheek, like some kind of fucked up, wavering smile.

 _Keep it together, [Y/N]._

-Was what you told yourself when you first saw him. You had bitten back your scream and instead, hid behind this wall like a genuine coward. The only problem was that now, you had to go back the way you came if you wanted to leave. There was nothing but darkness beyond here.

And back the way you came, was where Josh was.  
The Wendigo- Josh.

Despair shook you by the shoulders, and you felt your legs weaken, knees buckling as you slowly, silently, slid down against the wall and huddled on the floor, pulling your knees to your chest and burrowing your face behind them.

Fear.  
You were afraid of Josh.

Who could blame you though? So much had happened.

Your mind drifted.  
He wasn't himself anymore.  
You thought about that...

Back, two months ago...


	2. Chapter 1

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 1**

"Ohoho...you shoulda seen the look on your face, [Y/N]."

You shot a glare at the boy. Tied up, arms restrained behind his back, tight behind the wooden pillar he had been sat against, he stood no chance of hurting you now. Not that he ever really did. The most he did to harm you was knock you out with some gas when you weren't looking. And even then, when you had awoken, he had only mocked the others.

Never you.  
Well, until now.

Because now, you were the one watching him. Keeping an eye on the psycho while your friends made plans inside the cabin.

It was fine though. Mike had nearly shot him, and Chris had just about beaten him over the head. Neither of them were safe to leave with Josh. Even though he was trying to provoke you now, you wouldn't crumble. You would never be able to forgive yourself if you actually tried to hurt him.

"You looked soooo scared when I took that mask off, uhuhu!" Josh giggled, putting on his strange, nasally voice when he did. You simply kept glaring, and the ebony-haired guy tilted his head, smirking at you, then opening his mouth into a wide grin.  
"You don't like that, do you? You didn't like my little trick, did you?"

"'Little trick'?" You rolled your eyes, and stood up, pacing over to him calmly. "I don't think you could call it a-"  
Immediately, you stepped back, inhaling sharply as Josh thrust himself forth in his chair, scaring you for a moment into thinking he might leap forward and grab you. But of course, that was absurd. His hands were bound, he wasn't going anywhere.

"Hehehe...gotcha. Gotcha, [Y/N], I gotcha!" He wiggled his tongue like a child, then rested back against the pillar again, widening his legs a bit and waggling a brow. "C'mon...don't you want me? Baby?"  
"Ugh." You just cringed with disgust, and folded your arms, turning your back to him. "Sleaze."  
"Ouch." Josh pouted, and shut his legs again, leaning forward. "Why're you so mad at me, huh? Tell me that, [Y/N]. Why? Because I pranked you a little?"

"HOW WAS IT A PRANK!?"

Josh was startled when you turned around and screamed at him. Then he chuckled again. Nah, you wouldn't hurt him. You wouldn't dare.

His laughter only irritated you more, and you eyed the spare gun that Mike had left for you. God you were so tempted. But no. This was still Josh. And Josh wasn't mentally sound, so you had to cut him some slack. Even in a scenario like this.

He noticed where your eyes had travelled, and broke out in a sick smile.  
"What...you wanna...kill me, [Y/N]?"  
[E/C] eyes snapped towards him, and his grin grew wider again. Leaning forward as much as his bonds would let him, Josh looked at you under his eyelids. An ominous shadow had fallen on his face.

"I reckon I play the part of a serial killer pretty well, don't you?" His voice was low and threatening, his smile barely there anymore. "If I have to defend myself, do you think I'll hesitate, just because it's you, [Y/N]?"

Your blood ran cold.  
"If you shoot me, I'll get you back ten times worse. I'll find a way. So don't be an idiot."

"I-I'm not gonna shoot you..."  
You finally spoke, after a pregnant pause of awkward, tense silence. "I wouldn't do that."

Josh smiled again, and as he sat back up, the atmosphere seemed to lighten ten shades.  
"Well good. I didn't think so."  
"But can you stop mocking me?" You made your simple request, and sighed. "It's pissing me off."

He shrugged and chuckled. "Heh, well sure! Why didn't you say so? I'll stop, of course I'll stop."  
"Promise?" You raised a brow, and he nodded vehemently.  
"I promise, sir!" He spoke in his stupid voice again, and you sighed, before nodding and sitting down.

"Well alright then."

"One last thing though, my pretty little [Y/N]."  
You twitched a bit at the name he had addressed you with, and looked up at him again.  
"What?"

Josh smirked in that sinister fashion again.  
"Tell me, who do you prefer? Me, or Mike? Me, or Chris? Me, or Matt?"  
"What?" You straightened up in your seat and stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about!"  
He snapped, speaking harshly through his teeth, and you flinched.  
"Josh-"

"WHO? Me, or Mike? Me, or Chris? Me, or Matt? Hm?" He asked again. When he didn't receive an immediate response (you could barely find the words), he persisted.  
"Me or Mike? Me or Chris? Me or Matt? Me or Mike? Me or Chris? Me or Matt? Me or Mike? Me or Chris? Me or Matt? Hm? Hmm? HMM?"

"Josh!"

"ANSWER ME!"  
He roared, and you shot up from your seat again, grabbing the gun and aiming it at him.  
"ENOUGH, JOSH!"

"...Woah..."  
He stared at you with wide eyes.  
"I didn't think you'd actually do it." His head rolled to the side and he continued looking at you, mouth quivering into a bare smile. "Ehehe...you look pretty good with a gun though, [Y/N]. Maybe I'm a secret masochist..."

Biting your lip, you pointed it at him with more determination.  
"I swear, I will shoot you if you don't stop talking."  
"Why? Why are you so angry? Because I finally figured it out?" He asked, and smirked. "Why do you think I pitted myself against Chris in that saw trap? Because I _knew_ you'd pick him instead of me. And look what happened. I 'died'."

Your heart sank, as did your gun. He was right. And when you had believed Josh was really dead, you had regretted your decision like nothing else. Why, in that moment, _had_ you chosen Chris?

No, you knew why. In that crazy panic, you had thought of a simple justification for killing Josh. You loved him, that much was true. Wasn't it better then, to put the one you love, out of their misery first? When they would only get tortured further in the future by the fucking killer? Besides, Josh would have finally been with his sisters, and he would no longer have had to suffer under the burdening mental problems he had been plagued with since he was 11 years old.

That was why you had chosen Chris.  
But when you tried to explain that to Josh, right there in that shed, he shook it off, and moved on to Mike.

"I saw you with him. I SAW you with him." He spat, clearly angry again. He seemed to switch like a pendulum in a grandfather clock.  
"When did you see me with Mike!?" You demanded stubbornly.

"Oh don't play dumb, [Y/N]. You and Jess were just having a snowball fight with him, two on one, fair enough, right? That was fine, totally fine. But then I saw him." Josh took on a dark expression again. "I saw him put his arm around you. Give you a little squeeze, a feigned 'congratulations', really just a thinly disguised advance."

You sighed a bit, exasperated now.  
"Men _are_ allowed to touch me, Josh. I _am_ single after all, in case you forgot."

Josh's left eye twitched.  
"Yeah. I know you're single. But you were supposed to start dating me. ME."  
"GOD dammit, Josh, do you really think you're appealing to me right now? Annoying me, probing me like this?" she snapped.

"Don't snap at me." he glared through his eyelashes.  
"I will if I want to." You pointed the gun at him again, and his head lowered further, his face now completely obscured.  
"Didn't I tell you what would happen if you did that?"

"What?" You waggled the gun a bit. "I'm not _hitting_ you, am I?"  
"...I warned you..." Josh smirked, and started chuckling. It started out low, but grew into a maniacal crescendo, where he even threw his head back in cartoonish fashion.

"AHAHA! I warned you! I warned you!"

That was it. The gun came down on his head faster than you could think, and you were surprised by how quickly you knocked him out with just melee force. Well, he wasn't the toughest guy. But Mike would be proud of you at least...

…

 _I hit Josh.  
_ _I didn't see him after that. The guys called me inside.  
_ _If he finds me here, and remembers that I hit him...what will he do to me?_

Nervous thoughts spiralled through your head like a hurricane. You were frozen in that same spot as before, reminiscing with the sounds of offal being chewed on as a soundtrack. Josh _still_ wasn't done with that carcass? You had no idea how long it took to finish eating a human body, but with teeth like that, you didn't figure he'd have any struggles.

 _I can't leave yet.  
_ _I need to think of something else...take my mind off it..._

You closed your eyes again.

…

"Ayyy, so whaddya think, huh [Y/N]? Pretty cool place if I...do say so myself. This _is_ Washington land after all."

Josh seemed pretty enthusiastic about the cabin, nobody could deny that. You smiled at him anyway, even if you couldn't share that enthusiasm. Hard to when it was this cold outside.

"Did you like the little phone message I sent out? My cute little video?" He asked proudly, and you grinned, giving his arm a gentle punch.  
"It was top notch, sir."  
Josh smiled bashfully. "Sir. Please, call me that from now on."

"Maybe I will." You winked, and he chuckled happily. But it trailed off as Mike came over, slapping your back and giving your cheek a little playful pinch. He liked to do that kind of stuff to you since you were just above half his size. You liked it too, since Mike wasn't exactly hard on the eyes, and was pretty damn charismatic (you would dare to say, more so than Chris).

However, if you had seen the glower on Josh's face, you wouldn't have been smiling like you were.

"Winter wonderland, am I right?" Mike asked you, grinning at Josh, who forced one back.  
"Yup! Iiiif you like dead trees and dead birds alike, then yeah. Real wonderland." You joked, and glanced up at the building. "Oh, and don't forget the creepy horror-movie-worth cabin to boot."  
"Of course." Mike nodded eagerly.  
"I thought you liked it." Josh muttered.

"Anyway, 'dead birds'? You see a lot of those around here?" Mike asked, and you sighed a bit, shaking your head.  
"I think Chris must have shot a few. He and Sam were messing around with a shotgun earlier. Poor things."  
"Damn. Sam wouldn't have liked that, I bet." Mike puffed up his cheeks. "She loves her animals."

You nodded, just as Josh piped up.  
"It's an especially bad idea to kill animals on this mountain, you know..."  
The both of you looked at him, and Mike quirked a brow.  
"Huh. Is that so?"

"Yeah." Josh crept forward, raising his hands in a spooky, claw-like fashion. "They say that the ancient spirits get mad at you, and then, in the dead of night, rabbits will sneak into your room and eat your kidneys."  
"Wow." Mike smirked. "Is it weird that I find the idea of a cute little bunny munching on my kidneys kind of adorable?"  
"Hehe, yeah, shut up Josh." You picked up some snow and flicked it in his face, making him stumble back. He brushed it off, and was about to chuck one back. But as his hand formed a ball of white, he raised his head only to find that you had already begun the challenge with Mike.

He let the snow fall between his fingers.


	3. Chapter 2

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 2**

 _Mike...Chris...Matt..._

You opened your eyes again, and stared blankly at the dirty floor of the cave. You knew you weren't a whore. Not a slut. Josh had just jumped to bad conclusions about your relationship with the three other boys. They were just brothers in your eyes though, nothing more. People you could rely on in the tough times, people who would cheer you up during the sad ones. After all, Mike had Jess, Chris had Ashley, and Matt...well he had Emily...

He never seemed happy with her though. He pandered to the girl, he was a total cuck, but she never gave him much in return. You had rarely seen the two kiss or share an affectionate moment together during the time you were up on this cursed mountain, and considering how horny Mike had been acting with Jess, that was quite surprising.

Maybe Josh had suspected you liked Matt because you always tried to spend time with him. Truth be told, you felt sorry for the guy. He wasn't perfect, he had a bad habit of getting too defensive at times, but he was a genuinely nice guy. There wasn't really any bad blood between you and Emily, but you could see how obviously she was using him, and it made you pity the guy.

Perhaps you had just wanted Matt to know that he didn't _need_ Emily. Sure, you weren't going to replace her in the girlfriend role, but you could still be a good friend for him in general. He needed that. Everyone needed that.

 _Josh probably needed it too..._

Turning your head, you peeked around the rock and looked at Josh again. The noises had ceased, he had finished eating, but still crouched and crawled when he moved around, as if he had truly transformed into some sort of feral beast. His large eyes would catch the shafts of light sometimes while he scuttled around, making them glow creepily, like those of a family pet in a darkened room.

No. Josh had Chris, didn't he? The two had always been inseparable, and you'd known them for a long time. Josh would always call him 'Cochise', and give him that signature cheeky smile, before no doubt getting the guy involved in some kind of mischief. Like two oversized kids, they were kind of annoying when they teamed up like that...but it was cute...

Had he really been so convinced that you liked those guys? Chris...Mike...Matt. Hadn't he seen how obvious it was that you liked _him_? Had that not been the basis for all his playful teasing? The way he'd always step a little closer to you whenever you spoke, deliberately press his hand against the nearest surface and lean over you, just to make you feel even smaller than him, or casually brush his hand across your back whenever he shifted past.

Had it not been as obvious to him, as it was to you?

…

"Okay [Y/N], you gotta watch your step when you're coming down here, alright? The steps are broken at the bottom...and some of the uh, the floorboards stick up a bit, can make you trip if you're not careful."  
"I'll be careful."

You walked behind Josh cautiously, as he led you through the musty corridor. Everything smelt strongly of damp wood down here, probably a combination of the building itself and the heavy snow outside. Maybe there was a leak or a gap somewhere, where the snow was melting in? This place _had_ been abandoned after all...and was now reduced to something more than a little derelict.

You watched his back. He wasn't wearing his padded waterproof coat any more, because he had given it to you instead, after you dropped your woollen one in the snow by accident, and got it soaked in icy water. Naturally, being a kind-hearted soul, you had initially refused his gesture. However, Josh was insistent about these kinds of things. It seemed he truly cared about you...

Or maybe you were jumping to conclusions. You had always been bad for that when it came to boys. He was probably just thinking like a gentleman, and doing the right thing.

"Josh..." You spoke up all of a sudden, and saw him turn round, making sure he shone the torch at the wall instead of your face so you didn't get blinded. He almost immediately lit up when you spoke to him, naturally eager for any kind of conversation he could have with you, no matter how short or on what subject. Even in this dim light, you looked as gorgeous as ever. Were you the perfect girl? He wondered that...

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked.  
"...Listen..." You sighed out in a slow exhale, and he could tell this would be one of those long conversations he liked so much. However, the tone in your voice made him worry. He leaned against the electrical box. At least they had come this far.

Swallowing thickly, you spoke up a little louder, since your voice had sounded a little croaky. Or maybe, in your uneasiness, you had just imagined it being that way.  
"About what happened...you know, before...I'm so, so sorry." You breathed out, as if it was a relief to finally say that in your own words. "Hannah and Beth were my friends, they were almost like family to me too...I only wish I could have been braver, and done something to stop it..."

Josh listened closely, watching you with just as much intent. There was evidently a large amount of pain behind your words, and it showed on your face too, crumpling your comely expression into a visage of sadness. It was clear, you felt a lot of regret.

However, you were the one person who he never wanted an apology from. Mostly because he couldn't see how you had done anything wrong.  
"[Y/N], you don't need to apologise for anything. I know it, Sam told me that you and her had nothing to do with that prank. And even with the others..." Josh smiled sadly, though there was something strange in his expression, which you didn't notice because you kept your head down.

"...I'll forgive them too. I think we can put this mess behind us..."

…

Josh hadn't meant it. Josh hadn't meant a word of it.

His vengeful prank had been worse in a thousand ways, and you almost wondered if he had held himself back so he wouldn't actually kill the others in the process. Or risk harming you. Maybe he had desired to do so though. Maybe he had even lied to you, or perhaps you had just been delusional.

Maybe he _didn't_ care about you. Maybe he would happily see you dead. Maybe he really _did_ blame you for what happened to his sisters.

The Wendigo that he was slowly becoming crouched on its haunches, and cream-hued eyes flitted around the cavern. You quickly moved your head back behind the rock before they could settle upon you. You feared what might happen to you if you ended up being his prisoner here.

Yet you had to remind yourself. Keep reminding yourself...

 _I came here to bring him back. Hell, I should have come sooner. I should have...and maybe he wouldn't be in this state..._

 _Maybe there would still be a shred of humanity left..._

You knew you had to approach him, but you were scared. Josh was a monster now, and the chances that he would either tear you to shreds and swallow you down on the spot, or end up listening and hugging it out with you, weren't even 50/50.

Even before...he hadn't hesitated to capture you, even if he hadn't hurt you...

…

"Shit...shit...shit..."

You were huddled behind a stone wall, only this one wasn't in a cave, it was in the basement of the cabin you'd come to stay in. The finest cabin that the Washington's owned. A bitterly reminiscent place for you, and your friends. Who were now gone...leaving you alone here.

Well, not entirely alone. Sam had gone for a bath after getting the heating sorted, but since then you hadn't seen her anywhere. You hadn't even had time to go upstairs and knock on the bathroom door, for you had seen him...standing there...

A man in a mask. Denim overalls, stained with something...and whatever that something was, you didn't want to guess, but it looked like a dry, old scarlet hue. It was hard to see him clearly in the dim light, which you and Josh had gone down to the basement to fix along with the heating in the first place, but even with the electrics on, most of the house was still stooped in darkness.

Before you had even taken time to think, you had run. A flight response, sending you down to the basement where you and Josh had been before, and you now found yourself crouching just by the electrical box where you had stopped and spoken before. You wondered why you had chosen this place specifically, but then you remembered. It was somewhere around here...

Trying not to make too much noise, you cautiously looked around, until your eyes scanned the shadows and settled upon a cardboard box, with a familiar wooden bat jutting out of the top. Glancing to your left to see if the maniac had come this way, you supposed he hadn't, and reached out tentatively, stretching your arm and fingers out as far as they would go, to save yourself leaving the safety of your little spot and risking being seen.

The relief you felt when your hand successfully wrapped itself around the handle of the bat, was like a soothing wave, and you lifted the bat out, thankful that nothing else was knocked over inside the box when you did. Pulling it close to your chest, you pressed the wooden weapon to your snow-moistened shirt, and held your breath. Fully back against the wall again, you listened...

Step. Step. Step.

Heavy. Methodical.  
He was here. And he was coming for you.

You didn't know who he was, though you also didn't know that you would later find out the shocking truth. At that point, you had been none the wiser to Josh's supposed 'death' (though Sam would tearfully tell you when you finally ran into her again). Him, like the others, just seemed to be missing somewhere out on that mountain.

Things weren't right. And now, not even this lodge was safe. Blackwood Pines was a haunted, dire place...

"Kitten...where are you hiding?"  
A deep, distorted voice teased, as you could feel the wooden floorboards creak under his weight. Daring to shoot a look from the corners of your eyes, you saw him standing there. When he turned his head slightly, you saw his head, not obscured by shadows now, and nearly screamed, until you realised that it was just a mask. A creepy one though, with porcelain skin, exposed rose-coloured gums and rotten yellow teeth.

The man (though perhaps it wasn't) had matted, wavy hair down just past his shoulders, the colour of jet black. His gloved hands were holding some kind of canister, and he playfully tapped what seemed to be a muzzle against the metal side of it. You could just about catch the faint smell of gas in the air.

"Don't you know I can smell you, [Y/N]? I can smell your fear..."

You shuddered violently, and involuntarily let out a small gasp of fear. That was enough. He immediately turned and growled with amusement.  
"Gotcha!"  
"Nn!" You let out a frightened moan, as you took off again and tried to race past him, bat in hand and ready to swing. He caught you though, making you drop it with a loud, hollow clatter, a firm, strong arm wrapping around your neck, while his other hand held the transparent muzzle to your mouth and nose, and let the gas travel up your nostrils.

Almost immediately, you gave out. The last thing you remembered, as you went limp in his arms, was his voice cooing near your ear.  
"So sorry..."

…

You still remembered vividly, the way Josh had smirked at you when he had so proudly revealed it was him the whole time. Naturally, you had been horrified. Not least because of how he treated you, but the others too. Jess was dead, according to Mike. Ashley had a nasty bruise on her eye from where Josh had punched her, and both her and Chris had been utterly traumatised after the traps they had endured.

 _How could he?_ You remembered thinking. _How could he do this to us?_

Revenge...  
"Revenge is the best medicine!" He had said, with such enthusiasm. You'd felt the bile rise in your throat when he did so. Would Hannah and Beth really have wanted that? For him to torture his friends, as payback for a silly prank, with a tragic pay-off that they could have never anticipated?

As you edged closer to the half-Wendigo before you, you felt a little anger. Maybe he deserved to be left here, alone, to rot away with the other monsters of the mountain. Maybe that would be the revenge of you and your friends.

Then again...Josh hadn't intended to kill, or to hurt anyone. Jess had turned up broken, but alive, and you'd all made it out okay. Seeing Josh in this state...wasn't this repentance enough for him?

Perhaps...or perhaps not.

Either way...you weren't going back empty-handed.  
Your hand reached out...and laid itself upon his shoulder...


	4. Chapter 3

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks to _Fire and Flames_ , _LadyOfTheUnderground_ and _FallenAngelEmzi_ for leaving me my first reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying the story :)

 **From _LadyOfTheUnderground_ : **I really like this so far :) You have Josh's craziness down pat and I hope that he and the reader can reconcile.

 **From Me:** Thank you! I hope so too. I really enjoyed writing the scene in the shed, because at that point, Josh has just completely lost it. You feel sorry for him, but at the same time, it's both frightening and amusing. That's probably my favourite moment in the game :)

* * *

Wendigos are sharp-minded, and always quick to react.

Josh was no different.

The speed with which the boy spun around and lashed out at you was inhuman at best, and you screamed as one of his stray claws gashed through your cheek. Falling back, you hit the hard ground with a heavy thud, and immediately scrambled backwards on your hands and knees, feeling the warm blood oozing down your skin, watching tearfully as he scuttled towards you. He walked like them too, even if his limbs weren't stretched out like theirs were. In time they would be though.

Crawling quickly towards you, Josh had you backed up against the wall before you finally cried out to him.

"J-JOSH! STOP!"

He paused, and his head twitched to the side. He was growling ferally, jagged jaw drooling with delirious anticipation...but those milky orbs were studying you closely. They scanned every inch of you, but mostly bore right through your tearful eyes, still brimming and dripping with salty moisture. Josh, or what remained of him, crept closer, and you whimpered, pressing firmly up against the stone. You could feel the rock digging into your back where it was most uneven, but you didn't care. You wanted the grey to swallow you whole...

Easing his stance a little, he moved in a more...human-like manner, and you inhaled sharply as he brought his mouth close to the wound on your cheek. You let out a pained, uncomfortable moan, when his tongue licked up the deep cut, lapping away the excess blood that had trickled out, and taking up some tears with it too.

Pulling back, and licking his lips, he watched you silently. Well, that was one good thing. He wasn't going to straight up eat you right away. Maybe he was full after that other poor victim of his. What happened now though? Perhaps it was a good time to try talking to him properly...  
"J-Josh...l-listen..." you straightened up a bit against the wall, and watched his body tense with every move you made. His pale eyes never left yours.

"I-I'm here to help. I-it's me, [Y/N]. R-remember? You...you remember me, r-right?" Carefully, you reached out for him again... "I-I decided...to come back for you...th-the others are fine, they want to...to see you again, Josh..."

Not entirely true. Of course, they were saddened when they considered that he might be dead and gone for good. But the bitter feelings still remained for some of them...and you knew that things would never be the same between him and them ever again. Probably not between him and you either...

As soon as your hand got close enough to his chest, Josh abruptly snatched your wrist. You winced, and let out a little gasp. His hand was still of relatively normal size, but his fingers were clawed at the ends, and some were digging into your delicate skin, threatening to burst through to your arteries. His eyes had a hint of fury to them now, but he still remained calm, as he parted his malformed mouth, and spoke in a husky, rasped voice, that sounded more like a dry rattle than a human tone.

"...[Y/N]..."

"Yes! Y-yes, it's me!" You exclaimed, though still in a hushed voice, not wanting to frighten him, or anger him. Not caring about your wrist now, you were just relieved that he remembered you. And that he was still human enough to talk, however strange he sounded.

"..."

Josh suddenly let go of you, and turned on his haunches, crawling away. Eyes widening, you made to move after him, but he heard you getting to your feet and stepping slowly and shakily after him. His head snapped round, and he gave you a monstrous glare.

"GO."

A violent shudder shook you, and you very nearly dropped down again.

"...B-but-"

"GO!" He shouted this time, and his voice sounded nearly normal when it was so loud. It echoed faintly throughout the cavern, and the two of you both turned to look when the distant screech sounded.

He stared at you once again. "Go."

Then, he began crawling away, back towards what still remained of the body. Picking through the bones, he picked those without any meat remaining on them, and shuffled over to a dip in the ground. Tossing them into the shallow hole, you watched as he dusted some dirt over them. Taking some silent, overtly cautious steps, you peeked closer, and saw a whole pile of crudely covered marrow in there.

It was like...a grave.

Josh turned suddenly to go back to the body, but noticed you were still standing there, and he bared his teeth, hissing and growling at you. His body crouched back into a prowling stance, as if he were ready to pounce on you at any second. You backed up as many steps as you had taken forward, and a few more on top of that.

"Josh...you have to come back with me, please!" You begged in a steadier voice this time, but he shook his head angrily, defiantly.  
"Can't!"  
"Can." Was your firm response, and Josh's eyes widened just a little. With wavering determination on your face, you nodded, and held out your hand to him. "Just...come with me Josh. Everything will be okay. We can go home together..."

"...Home..." he muttered lowly, then cowered slightly, lowering his head to the dirt. "Home...home..."  
"That's right. Chris, Emily, Sam, Mike, everyone's waiting for you Josh."  
"...Chris...Emily...Chris...Mike...Chris..." Bitterness crept into his tone, as he slowly raised his head again. "Chris...Mike...Matt..."

Tears were streaming down his face.

…

"Hey Chris...do you know like...how to tell if a girl...y'know...likes you?"  
Josh was staring at the ceiling, hands behind his head. Chris turned round from killing innocent Los Santos pedestrians for a moment, and stared at him with a slight frown.  
"Huh? Hey, I thought you were the poontang master, Josh."

"I thought so too..." Josh rolled onto his side and rested his cheek in his hand, watching Chris directly. "But like...maybe I've finally found true love or something."  
"Girl on your mind, bro?" Chris paused the game, and walked over, before sitting on the edge of the bed and giving his best friend a shit eating grin. "You've come to the right guy."

"Yeah yeah." Josh rolled his eyes. "Just tell me what to do."  
"Hmmm..."

Chris looked around at the rest of Josh's room. The summer sun peeked in through the blinds, dancing geometric patterns across the cream carpet.  
"Well...first off, before I can even begin to help you, I need to know who it is."  
"What?" Josh sighed and rolled on his back again, laying his hands on his stomach. "C'mon bro, I can't tell you that..."  
"Sorry then, no can do." Chris puffed his lips up. Josh sat up properly and sighed again, more heavily this time.

"Fine. She's...she's a girl..."  
"Mm, I guessed that, but hey, I don't judge." Chris shrugged.  
"Ha ha." Josh rolled his eyes. "She has...[E/C] eyes and [H/C] hair..."  
"Too vague. Could be anyone." Chris glanced at him.  
Josh hesitated. "I bet you already know who it is. Don't you."  
"Specifics dude, gimme a name." Chris pushed.

"Fine!" Josh gave in and gripped his own forehead, scrunching his eyes with strain. "It's [Y/N], alright!?"

"Hah! Knew it!" Chris folded his arms. Josh glared and punched one of them.  
"Dick."  
"Heh, hey dude, it's cool but uh..." Chris unfolded his arms, and his expression became serious. "You should know something..."  
"...What?" Josh asked apprehensively.

His mate looked him dead in the eyes. "[Y/N] and I are...lovers."  
Josh stared at him emptily. A good minute passed, before the straight-face cracked, and Chris burst out laughing.  
"Hahaha! Oh fuck, you should've seen the look on your face! I'm kidding, of course I'm kidding dude, sheesh!"

"...Dude...seriously? You really had me going there for a minute..." Josh breathed with relief, then laughed uneasily with him. "Heh...you totally got me."  
"Hey, if it's any condolence, I think she feels the same way about you too." Chris told him, and Josh acquired a light, almost unnoticeable tinge of pink to his cheeks.  
"You...really think so?"

"Yup." Chris nodded proudly, and folded his arms again. "Trust me dude, life is short, you should go for it. Or else you might lose your chance forever."

…

Chris had been right. The chance was lost. Josh knew now, that there was no way you could love him as the creature he had turned into...and would slowly become fully. If you had ever held any love for him, it would have been for his human side, however fucked up he might have been in the head. At least back then, he hadn't been fucked up on the outside too...

Watching you now, trying to help him, being as sweet as you had always been, only amplified the pain. He hated himself. He hated the way his stomach twisted into knots of hunger as he watched you. Half his brain couldn't stop commenting on you like you were a plate of finely prepared food. A delicacy. Plump, plush skin...a sweet smell...he wouldn't even care if you squirmed-

No.  
No. He had to stop thinking like that.  
You had to leave, before he did something he regretted. Or, before the other Wendigos got you instead.

Yet you, stupid, stupid girl...you weren't moving. He didn't know how many different ways he could say no, since he couldn't find the words to say much more. But he knew he had to drive you away somehow. If that meant scaring you off...then so be it...

"Josh...come on..."  
Your hand was still extended to him, the open invitation still waiting for him to accept. Your mind was reeling with fantasies of getting him back on track, healing his broken mind, moulding his twisted body back into something earth-born again.

This caramel-complexioned boy, with his now pale and ghoulish eyes, and monstrous mouth torn up at the side...he was messed up, there was no doubt about it. But he was still Josh. He was still your Josh.

And you weren't letting him go just yet...


	5. Chapter 4

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

 **A/N:** The DeviantArt version of this has different formatting for the start, which is meant to be an insight into Josh's mind (and thus, is meant to look quite disjointed). Since I couldn't figure out a way to align the text on here to the right (though please tell me if you know how!), it doesn't look quite as crazy. But I hope the effect was still conveyed well enough :)

* * *

 _Get away from me, PLEASE!  
_ _I'm going to end up hurting you!  
_ _Just like everyone else...please...please..._

You took one step. Then another. You were coming closer and closer, and Josh was gripping his temples now, shaking his head frantically as he cowered away from you.

 _"Josh...do you know what I'm going to do to her...?"_

"No! Get away! Don't touch her!"

 _Hannah!_

 _"She isn't **family** , Josh. We don't need her. We just need each other, isn't that right?"_

 _"Beth! Hannah! G-get away from her! Get away from ME!"_

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"JOSH!"

The palm of your hand cracked against his cheek, and his startled head was thrown sharply to the side. Blinking with wide and traumatized eyes, he registered what had just happened, and slowly raised his messy gaze to look at you again.

"I'm sorry..." You held your hand back up close you your chest again, and looked at him sympathetically. "But you were freaking out again. Just like before."

Just like before...

…

"I trust you."

 _Josh..._

"I trust you."

 _Josh, it's me..._

"I trust you."

"Josh, it's me! Hey!"  
"Don't think he can hear you, [Y/N]. He's waaay out of it right now. Look at this."

You and Mike stood before the boy, along with Sam, whose headband flash-light shone upon the nutcase. Josh was shuffling around in circles, with his hands making random, erratic gestures. He kept saying the same things over and over.

"I didn't want you to die!"  
"They're gonna love it...oh...they're gonna love it..."  
"You're not real! You're not _real!_ "

"Snap out of it Josh." Sam said.  
"Talking isn't working." Mike sighed, and readied his hand with a couple of shakes. When Josh turned his way again, Mike slammed his palm against his jaw, and the boy reeled as he was forced over.

"Jesus Mike. Bit hard?" You scolded him, and he shrugged, giving you an innocent look.  
"Sometimes I don't know my own strength."

"Josh, hey, you okay? You alright?" You gently took the shaken boy by his shoulders, and helped him straighten up again. He looked at you in a daze.  
"...[Y/N]...what are you...huh...Mike...Sam?"

"Hey, welcome back to Earth, buddy!" Mike gave him a slap on the shoulder, and Josh stumbled a bit. You glared at Mike sharply again, and he backed up, whistling. "Sorry, sorry."  
"Do you feel okay Josh?" You asked him, and he blinked at you.  
"Y-yeah...jus'...don'...don' hit me again...please..."  
"It's alright, we won't." you smiled warmly, and touched his jaw delicately. "The pain will ease off soon too, I bet."

You swore you saw him flush a little. Yet it just reminded you, you couldn't really act too friendly with him now. Not after what happened. However, you wouldn't give him the cold treatment. Sure, his attitude in the outbuilding had _really_ pissed you off...but it had also proven just how messed up in the mind he was, same with what had occurred just now too. Whatever he had done, you had to make allowance for that.

It was clear, just how much he regretted what he had done as well. Josh truly hadn't intended to hurt anyone badly, let alone kill them. You didn't know whether Jess was alive or truly dead at this point, but you doubted Josh could be capable of murdering one of his friends. He was delusional...but he wasn't evil.

Finding him down here, alone and frightened in this mine...you pitied him. In a way, you wanted to pull him into a big warm hug, wipe the grit out of his open wounds, and tell him that everything was going to be alright.

For now though, the biggest thing on everyone's minds was getting the key to the cable car. Your key to escaping this hell-hole. Hopefully Josh would have it...  
"Josh, hey, listen-" Sam spoke softly, reassuringly to him. He was in a fragile state of mind. Whatever hallucinations he had been having, they must have been horrible.

"-We need the key to the cable car, do you still have it?"  
Josh took a dazed moment of blinking and looking around at the three of you emptily, before he finally registered her query, and gave the blonde a slow, methodical nod. She grinned when he did, but there was an urgent edge to her expression. You were all on your tiptoes, ready to take flight as soon as you had what you came for.

"Y-yeah, sure...h-here you go..." Josh's slightly bloodied hand dove into his denim pocket, and pulled out a single, grey key, which he handed over instantly. Sam took it, and you could see that the relief on her face was as potent as that which you were feeling.

"Alright, great. Mike, you bring Josh back the way we came, then we'll all meet at the lodge." Sam gave out the orders to both of you. "[Y/N], you come with me. If everything goes smoothly...fingers crossed...then we should be able to make it out of this mess."  
You were hopeful. But things seemed so dire at this point, that you couldn't even bring yourself to force a smile like she was able to.  
"Okay. Lead the way, Sam."

She nodded to you, and you turned to Josh and Mike, raising a hand in a weak farewell. Mike returned the gesture, but Josh could barely move his arm away from his side. His gaze lingered upon you, hollow, pained, tormented. Part of you wanted to run over and hug him.

But you couldn't. Not now. Maybe never again.

"Alright let's go, you fucked up son of a bitch." Mike ushered Josh along, his voice echoing in the cavern behind you as you quickly hurried to catch up with Sam. Josh was slow to follow, but eventually he tore his eyes away from you, when Mike grabbed his arm and forced him to come along.

And that was the last you saw of him...

…

Until now.

You crouched beside Josh. His cheek had gone red, and it showed up bright against his skin, which had gone a much paler, sicklier colour than it was before. He stared at you, with one wide, innocent, only slightly filmy eye. The other, was so white and pearlescent, that you had no way of seeing the emotion behind it. His lip quivered.

"...Hit...me...you...hit..."

"I know I did, and I'm sorry, but we really need to go, Josh!" You were urgent about it, already reaching for his arm and grabbing it before he could jerk away. He was still dazed enough by your slap, that you could pull him to his feet, but by the time he was on two legs again, he recovered.

Something hard hit you in the side, and shoved you back away from him. You stumbled, and coughed, clutching your abdomen. Looking up with one eye scrunched shut, you could see that Josh had his right fist clenched. So...he'd punched you in the side, just to get you away from him.

It hadn't been hard though. You found you were only a little bit winded, and promptly straightened up. Josh glared at you with a frightening expression, and bared both his fangs and his teeth.

"Josh...I really don't care if you hurt me...because I'm not leaving without you..." You stumbled towards him again, and he raised his left fist this time, grimacing as he prepared to hit you again.

"-!"  
Suddenly, there was a horrible shriek. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere nearby, and you tensed like a rock. Josh lowered his fist, and his head darted around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. His eyes settled on a shadowy passage which led into the cavern, just entering at the corner of the unevenly shaped room. The grotesque noise sounded again, echoing ominously through the pitch black tunnel.

There was something in his eyes as he studied the darkness. A recognition.  
"...Josh...who is it?"  
You could see a small bulge travel down his throat as he took a large, nervous gulp.

"Hannah."

…

Hannah.

Hannah was the entire reason you'd met Josh in the first place. Initially, you'd known her as the half-nerdy/half-sporty girl from the back of Chemistry class, and the tennis court. You were kind of a middle-ground student all throughout high school, but thanks to Hannah giving you some extra tutoring, you'd been able to raise your grades a bit above average.

She was meeker than you, and didn't always seem keen to speak her mind about things, whereas you rarely held back so much. However, even though you had been gifted with more confidence, she was the one out of the two of you who you believed deserved to be admired. Behind those glasses, and that slightly nervous demeanour, was a genuinely kind girl.

You became fast friends, and it wasn't long after that you met her siblings, Beth and Josh. It was especially amusing, to discover that Josh already knew Sam and Ashley through Chris, and Ashley had always been one of your closest friends. You knew enough about Chris too, from the way Ashley would shyly gossip about him all the time. Matt was someone you recognised, since he was one of the most popular sportsmen in the school. As for Mike, Jess and Emily...well, they had always been their own kind of thing...but somehow you ended up crossing paths with them.

In a way, it was as if you had all been destined to come together.  
Hah. What a tragic thought.

Soon, Hannah began to confide in you.

"Sooo...what was it that you wanted to tell me about?"  
You were sitting cross-legged on the bed with her, swirling patterns on the pink butterfly sheets. Hannah was opposite you, wringing her hands, looking uneasy. A hard-cover journal was lying on the bedding beside her.  
"Promise you won't tell anyone?"

In an instant, you had your pinky held out towards her.  
"Promise."  
Though still hesitant, she shook it with her own, and you both let your hands drop. Hannah inhaled deeply, before clasping her hands and rubbing her thumbs over one another. She didn't dare raise her head to look at you, as she began her anxious confession.

Or at least...tried to.

After several moments of awkward silence, she finally blurted out: "I can't!" _,_ and shoved the journal over into your hands. You took it with a slight frown, and looked up at her.  
Hannah nervously met your eyes. "The page is marked with the ribbon..."

Glancing back down again, you pulled at the silken magenta strip, and used it to lift the book open. You then read the page, with interest at first, then a little shock.

 _'Dear diary,_

 _Okay so [Y/N] is coming over tomorrow, and I think I'm finally ready to tell her about Mike. I hope she doesn't laugh at me. I know I'd never stand a chance with someone like him, but I know I can at least confide in her, right?_

 _I've tried everything. I've wished, followed every type of advice. I even tried one of those stupid online spells. I just can't do it. Mike will never know how I feel. And even if he finds out, he probably won't feel the same way._

 _Gonna go to bed early. Don't feel well.'_

Silence.

"...Do you feel better now?" You asked her, guessing that was the best way to break the ice. She glanced at you, then nodded with a little sigh.  
"Yup."

You slowly set the journal down on the bed again, closing the rose-coloured cover.  
"Listen Hannah-"

"[Y/N], what am I doing wrong!?" she cut you off with a distressed voice. Hannah gesticulated wildly while she spoke. "I've tried _everything_ , and _nothing_ has worked! I even got this stupid tattoo, and he still doesn't even give me the time of day!"  
You glanced at the black butterfly on her arm. "...Hannah..."  
"It's hopeless. I should just give up..." she hung her head.

Humming in thought, you mulled over what to say to her. Tell her to give up, like she said? Well sure, that was probably wise, considering Mike was already with Emily (and Emily wouldn't take kindly to Hannah getting in on her man). But could you really just say a thing like that, when it was clear how much Hannah had a crush on him? You hadn't even needed to see the journal to know it. It was pretty damn obvious to all her friends.

"Hannah..."

You spoke her name. And that was as much as you did.  
You never gave her the advice you sought.  
Never told her the truth.

And at the time, you didn't know just how much you would regret that decision...


	6. Chapter 5

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 5**

Everything was a blur.

One minute, you and Josh had been standing there in that dark, dry, stifling underground cavern. The next, his hand had latched around your wrist, and you were being pulled along at a rapid, inhuman pace. The world around you melted into nothing but a vague palette of greys and blues, with the occasional flash of orange when you passed by the torches you had lit earlier.

His grip was painfully tight, but even if you'd had the breath to do so, you wouldn't have complained. You knew why Josh was doing this. Why he had suddenly grabbed you and hauled you out of his little home of stone.

Hannah was coming for you.

You knew she wouldn't spare you. Why would she? Sure, you might not have had much of a part in the prank, and of course, had protested against the others going ahead with it. But you hadn't been able to stop it, nor her and Beth from running outside into the bitter blizzard. Hannah had tried to kill Chris outside the lodge, you'd seen her lunging for him with your own eyes. And he hadn't even had anything to do with the cruel joke she had been subjected to...

Now, you also knew that Josh hadn't been responsible for hurting Jess. Hannah must have been. Her, or another one of the fucked up creatures that still resided here. The miners...tortured by their own hunger, driven to the unthinkable, just like Hannah had been.

You weren't safe. You couldn't afford to let your guard down.

Josh finally came to an abrupt stop, skidding to a halt. You would have gone flying if his hand hadn't been holding on to you so tight. Thankfully it was, and so you just stumbled around a bit, then recovered, and looked at the half-Wendigo, standing protectively in-front of you. His eyes were darting around madly, and he backed up slowly with you towards the elevator that you'd used to come down here in the first place.

When you were close enough to fall back into it, he turned around sharply and pushed you in. You stepped right back out.  
"I told you I'm not going without you!"  
Josh was panting and huffing, agitated, stressed. He shoved you back harder this time, and you could feel how much his strength had grown. Slamming back against the wooden bars, the wind was knocked out of you for a moment, and while you were dazed, Josh reached up to the handle and yanked it down.

The elevator lurched violently, then slowly started to ascend. Once you snapped out of it, you rushed to the edge and reached down to him.  
"JOSH!"  
But he just watched you go. Silently. Eyes gleaming in the dim light.

And behind him, lurking in the darkness, you swore you saw her. A spindled, broken figure.

Your former friend.

…

"What the fuck is wrong with you guys!? How could you do this!?"

You were absolutely furious, as you glared around at your group of 'friends', hands on your hips. The bitter wind which battered you didn't bother you a bit. Hannah was cowering out there, alone somewhere. You could hardly complain.

"It was just a prank, [Y/N], we tried to tell her that!" Emily snapped with exasperation, and you glared at her.  
"Em, you really upset her! Look what happened!"

Sam seemed just as angry as you about the situation. "She didn't deserve this. You guys are jerks, you know that?"  
Mike gripped his forehead and rubbed his temples, groaning. "Ugh...look-" he jerked his hand away in sudden motion, "-we couldn't have possibly known that she was just gonna run off like that!"  
"Exactly!" Jess chipped in, nodding fervently. "We only wanted to tease her a little, we didn't think she would run off into the snow!"

It sickened you. These were people you personally trusted, people old enough to know better, and yet they had done something like this.  
"Whatever. Let's just hope Beth makes it back safe with her."

You folded your arms, and looked out into the white, as the others shuffled back inside, Sam continuing to scold them for what they had done. The chill in the air nipped at your skin, turning it a raw pink when it came in contact. Eyes watering a bit with the stinging cold, you rubbed them with the back of your sleeve, and finally went back inside.

Perhaps you should have gone after Beth. Perhaps you should have been the one to run after Hannah instead of her. Hell, perhaps you should have stopped your friends from doing this to her in the first place.

Now it was too late. As you walked back into the warmth of the lodge, and glanced at Josh and Chris, still slumped over the kitchen counter and surrounded by empty bottles of the finest whisky and beer, you swallowed back the bitterness in your throat. The cloying sensation that something terrible was going to happen had risen up from your stomach.

At the time you didn't know it. But maybe you had been the worst 'friend' of all...

…

You rose back up to upper ground again, and were greeted by the fresh light of early morning. Being down in the mines for the night, had made you lose track of time, even though you wore an electronic watch on your wrist, and your phone was fully charged and always ready to enlighten you. That was one condolence at least. As you trudged back to the Washington Lodge, you at least knew that your backpack was full of everything you could possibly need. Food, portable chargers, even a pocket Wi-Fi hotspot, which had cost you a pretty penny, but would at least mean that you could keep your friends updated. The signal still wasn't great, but it was better than trying to rely on cell towers hundreds of feet below.

Though you had only intended to be up here for a single night, it was best to be more prepared than last time. You knew the risks now. You knew what could potentially happen.

You reached it. The Washington Lodge...  
Or what remained of it, at least. A broken pile of ash and scorched beams, still seemingly sizzling in the snow. The air around it smelt smokey, but perhaps it was just your imagination. Nonetheless, it didn't bother you enough to make you stay away. Although you initially intended to head back to the cable car station- which had been repaired somewhat during the rescue efforts, and had been turned into a safe spot for you to camp out while you were up here- you took a moment to pause by the wreckage, and study it.

Luck, and Mike's quick thinking, had ensured you were still alive today.

You thought of Josh. It was daytime now, and you'd told your friends and the ranger services that you were only coming up here for this one night, a single night, to cautiously search for him. They might have called it madness, but you had told them to come for you if you weren't back by midday come the next day. Plus, you had been keeping your friends updated on the situation thanks to the Wi-Fi you had at hand.

The only problem was...when you took out your phone to send another update, you found yourself at a blank for words. Were you really giving up so easily? Enough humanity still lingered within Josh to make him hesitate to attack you, and when he pushed you away like that, you had sensed some hesitation there too. Plus, he had done all of that to keep you safe. Deterred you in the hopes you might make it out safe.

Maybe if you kept trying, you'd succeed in luring him off this mountain.

 _I won't give up. Josh needs me. He **needs** me to save him, before he completely turns into one of those things. I'm not going back empty-handed..._

Turning back around, your eyes fell upon the mine entrance in the distance, a dirt brown excavation that stood out starkly against the pure white sugar of the snow. Before you even knew it, you were walking back over to the gaping access point. Your boots trudged over the footprints you had just left behind you minutes ago, and when you reached the edge, you peered down at the elevator, easily accessed by a ladder.

Below it, a deep, pitch-coloured darkness. You listened closely. You could hear no signs of scuttling down there, but you didn't wholly trust your ears. It was a long distance between the surface and the depths of the mine...

Down, far far below where you stood, Josh was scuttling back to his cavernous little home, with head hanging, and an almost sorrowful expression on his face, though marred and distorted by his twisted features. Hannah nimbly crawled along the wall beside him, like some sort of oversized, four-limbed, flesh-coloured spider. He could feel her eyes burning into the back of his skull, practically searing away the hair on the back of his head.

Two milky blue orbs, that saw right through him.

Saw the weakness. The temptation. Josh had nearly gone with you. Josh had nearly abandoned his sister...again. Yes, again. Hannah told him so often, after all. How could he ever forget the fatal mistake he had made? He was the worst one of all...

 _Because you didn't even try to save me..._

 _I know.  
_ Josh's head somehow managed to hang even lower than before, forehead nearly trailing in the dirt and stone as he shuffled back up into his nest. It was a crude thing, made out of the jackets and other garments that Hannah had peeled off of her victims. She'd pile up the clothes for him in that spot in the corner, and then throw down the dead, lukewarm body at his feet. She couldn't speak, but her eyes would say it all.

 _Eat._

At first, Josh had been in denial. He couldn't...could he? Eat another human...the mere thought was just absurd. What sane, living being, would ever do a thing like that? Even now, he still grimaced at the thought of how his first bite had felt, tasted, smelt, even if he was so used to feasting on bloody, fresh flesh by now.

The idea that upon seeing you, his mouth had watered so much, sickened him even more. Sure, he still resented your closeness with the other boys...but that didn't change how much he cared about you.

It would be fine now though, surely. He had surely succeeded in dissuading you, and even if he hadn't, he had broken the elevator to make sure you had no way of coming back in that way. Josh knew he'd likely have to make a point of blocking the other entrances too, if you dared to try those that hadn't been excavated properly.

You noticed his handiwork, back up on the surface. No matter how many times you pushed the lever down, and heard the triggers grind against one another with a metallic screech, the elevator did not descend as it should have.

Cursing under your breath, you knew you had no choice but to go back to the upper station and think this through. Josh or Hannah must have broken the elevator so you couldn't go back down that way. There were plenty of other entrances, but none of these had been scoped out by the rescue teams yet...

It was a risk...but perhaps it was one you were willing to take.  
After all, you had survived those mines once before. Most of the Wendigos must have been killed by you and your friends too, surely.

It would be fine, you could do this.

But first, you had to make a plan. There was a map of the mountain back at the station, and you had marked the other entrance points on it, in the event that something like this happened. It was just a case of making a plan of action, acting upon it, and getting Josh back to the station before noon, so you could both leave this wretched place for good.

You. Your friends. His family.  
All of you needed Josh back. The real Josh, not the half-turned monster you had encountered down there.

Making your way back to the station, you ascended the short set of steps and pressed the button to unseal the door, walking inside.

At that time, you had been far too preoccupied with your worries, to notice the pair of wide blue eyes, fixated upon you. Far too concerned about mapping out your little stroll, to notice the figure darting up at an inhuman pace, reaching the door a matter of seconds after you had.

By the time you heard the glass shattering, the darkness had already taken you.


	7. Chapter 6

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you so much to all my new followers, favouriters(?), and to my reviewers; **Acro111** , **Yitz** and **Jojobean209**. So happy you're enjoying the story, and the way that the Reader has been incorporated too. Thanks for the kind words, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well! I'm certainly having a lot of fun writing it :)

* * *

You recalled the feeling of snow seeping into your back. A cold embrace, that had done little to comfort you as you had been dragged for what felt like miles. Far far away from your safe little haven at the cable car station, and into a dark, dank cavern, that smelt strongly of blood.

For a long time, your eyes had been shut, a minor shield against the blistering wind that battered you while you were hauled along helplessly. The back of your collar was slightly torn, in places were you swore you had felt sharp points poking through. Whatever had caught you couldn't have been human. No human had strength like that...no human had the speed to carry you as fast as it did.

One minute you had been staring down at a slightly worn map. The next, you were staring at a well-worn ceiling. A grey, stalactite ridden canopy had greeted you the moment you opened your eyes. Turning your head with a little effort, your still dazed self settled it's eyes upon the poor companion it had been gifted.

"Beth..."  
Your voice was croaky, and hoarse. The words that travelled up your tender throat were like sandpaper, and they barely graced the air with their noise.

She looked just as tired as you, as she stared back with eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. Her dark brown hair was matted around her pale face, and there was dried blood clinging to her nostrils and lip in scarlet streams.

"B-Beth..."  
You groaned as you spoke. Your hand raised, and reached out for her in some sort of weak attempt at an embrace, but your fingers passed through air. Reaching again, you found a surprising emptiness surrounding her.

Laying your palm flat against the icy stone, you dragged it up along the ground, until it bumped against an uneven, vertical surface. Inspecting it, you gently poked and caressed the weird little wall, your fingertips greeted by hard nubs of something...with a thick, solid mass in the middle.

Your eyes widened, as your fingers then passed up over the edge of the surface, and came into appearance again, the flickering lamplight illuminating them as they slid up and over Beth's neck. Right up to her stone-cold cheeks, just touching the corner of her clouded left eye.

Tears welled in yours. Of course. Monsters didn't keep humans like pets, did they? They severed their heads from their bodies, and ate the rest.

Whatever had caught you...hadn't been human. You already knew that.

By this point...you knew a lot about these fucking Wendigos.

And there was only one Wendigo who had such a signature killing style. One who would go to such effort to separate the neck and torso...keeping the lone head as some sort of prize, or symbol of regret. The Wendigo who Josh had tried to save you from. The Wendigo who had once been your dearest friend.

Hannah.

And this...was Beth. Her lips were blotched and darkly purple, and her skin had taken on a sickly blue tinge. Her body, or what remained of it, was still well preserved, no doubt due to the freezing cold that lingered down here, even more unforgiving than that of the world above. Still...that only made her look more doll-like...and as such, that much more unsettling.

The fact that you had been so deluded as to mistake her for being alive was worrying. Hannah must have knocked your head off a rock or something on the way down...after all, you did remember losing consciousness at one point. To think, for a moment there, you had truly believed it. Believed you had some chance in hell of saving this poor girl who had died on that terrible night.

Beth...

You already knew. You had already learned of her tragic fate two months ago...

…

"Emily, just stay calm, and tell us exactly what you saw."

You spoke as steadily as you could. The dark-haired girl was clearly distraught, sweating like she'd just stepped out of a sauna, eyes wide with terror and exhilaration. From the way she panted while she spoke, you could tell she had run long and far to make it back here to the lodge. And from the sounds of it...she'd had good reason to run that fast.

"I'm _telling_ you, I found Beth's grave, and then I looked around and I saw-" Emily took a deep breath as her voice began cracking like fragile glass, tears streaming down her cheeks, "-I saw _her_ , I saw _Beth_ , but...i-it was just her head and...oh God...I think Hannah ate the rest of her..."  
"What?" Sam stared at her, but kept acting as calmly as possible. Your reaction was similarly subdued despite the shock, but you were practically assaulted by the pounding racket of Ashley's heartbeat beside you.

"Oh no...oh no no no..."  
"Hold on Ash, just stay calm." You took her clammy hand and squeezed it, then looked back over at Emily. "Em, are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!" she snapped, and let out a sob, before wiping her eyes quickly on the back of her designer sleeve, and composing herself some so that she could at least answer coherently. "I-I found the marker for her grave, but there wasn't a body...a-and Hannah...h-her body wasn't there either. B-but then I found Beth's head, just her head and...th-they must have fallen...and Beth died but...Hannah was alive-"  
Emily gripped her temples and shook her head.  
"She was _alive_ down there, for who knows how fucking long!"

"Jesus..." Sam breathed, and looked away for a moment, frowning a bit while she thought, before looking back at Emily. "She must have gotten hungry...and-"  
"Don't say it!" Ashley yelled, jerked her hand away from yours and covered her ears, as her own eyes welled with tears. "Don't say it, please!"

Chris, who seemed to have been shocked into silence, finally spoke up.  
"And...and this monster you were talking about..."  
"I didn't get a good look at it." Emily immediately answered, and shook her head.

"But I know what I saw down there, and it _wasn't human_..."

…

Beth's disembodied head didn't scare you as much as you would have expected. It saddened you more than anything else.

However, what _did_ scare you, was the sound of a sharp screech...one that wasn't too far away either. The high-pitched holler echoed and bounced off the cavern walls, until it reached your ears and made you cringe. That feral cry was unmistakeable. There couldn't be any doubt anyway, for, only a few moments after it had sounded, you saw the pale, gangly figure crawl into view.

Those eyes frightened you most of all. A pale, ghostly shade of bluish white, the large round orbs shone brighter than the lantern on the wall, staring right at you, never moving from your fallen form. The leather-like grey skin was pulled taut around the spidery body that scuttled down the wall, and made a short leap down to the ground. Some ashy dust was kicked up when Hannah landed, and you could hear her claws scraping and scratching along the earth as she made a horrifying beeline for you.

Immediately, you rolled over on your stomach, ignoring the pain in your back and neck, as you reached out and grabbed at any bump you could find in the stone floor, dragging yourself towards the light source with every ounce of energy you had, groaning and grunting along the way.

That lantern. You could only guess that after so much time had passed, Josh had been the one who lit it. He still had some humanity in him after all. Light could likely still comfort him...and maybe it was a sign of hope. Perhaps by bringing forth that glass-encased glow, he had been convinced it would drive away his rotten side, cleanse him somehow.

If you had been brought to such a place where what a Wendigo feared was casually hanging on the wall, then it could only mean that Josh wasn't far. Maybe there was hope for you yet-

-Or not.

You yelped as a large, gnarled hand grabbed the back of your coat and flipped you over suddenly. Thudding against the ground, you stared up in terror at the scourged creature that had once been your close friend. Those sharp, unrelenting eyes stared down at you, and narrowed. They felt like bullets as they bored into you, and her claws felt like knives as they curled around your cheeks and chin.

As she started twisting, her wide, grinning mouth proving just how little she cared about you now, your eyes travelled to her bony shoulder, and settled on the black butterfly tattoo that adorned it...

…

"Um...I'd uh...I'd like something like this, please."

You casually leaned against the counter while Hannah handed over her sketch to the man behind it. His arms were absolutely clad with the things, and his face was punctured with plenty of piercings. He studied the simple design, and nodded to her.  
"Sure thing, whereabouts were you thinking, and do you want in in colour, or..?"  
"Just in black, please." Hannah told him. "Just small...on my shoulder please..."

When he nodded again, he went away to get the supplies. Hannah turned to you, and gave you a worried smile.  
"Good thing they were having walk in sessions today, huh. Though it does make me feel a little nervous-" she rubbed her arm. "This place is supposed to be the best in the city, but..."  
"It'll be fine, Hannah." You pet her other shoulder and grinned. "They wouldn't be a five star place if they didn't know what they were doing. Besides, I don't think the shoulder hurts that much anyway."

"I hope not." she sighed, as you both walked over to the leather couch and took a seat by the window. Your eyes travelled to one of the display racks, and admired the intricate designs that were framed there. Honestly, coming somewhere like this had made you pretty tempted too...

"Do you think he'll like it?" Hannah asked suddenly, breaking you out of your thoughts and prompting you to look over.  
"You mean..." you lowered your voice, just in case, "-Mike?"  
She nodded, pursing her lips. Her eyes still innocently darted around, as if she were afraid he'd suddenly burst through the wall or something.

You hesitated to answer. Getting a tattoo just to impress a guy you liked, a man who was already taken mind you, wasn't a course of action that you would ever personally adopt, no matter how desperate you were. However, Hannah did have an unfortunate stubborn streak when it came to Michael Munroe. You weren't sure that you could talk her out of anything when it came to him, no matter how drastic.

"Um...yeah, I'm sure he will. But what's most important is that you yourself are happy with it."  
For a moment, she had seemed to hesitate. Then she quickly nodded, and laughed a little.  
"Of course!"

She didn't sound too sure...

…

"Hannah-"

You whimpered out, as you felt your jaw threatening to crack. In only a few moments, it would no doubt be snapped harshly to the side, killing you instantly. You could feel the pressure on your face increasing, like a metal vice around your head, and that was the sign that you were close to getting beheaded yourself.

Well...at least then, Beth would have a friend.

Your throat tightened, and you found yourself suddenly, silently sobbing. Hot tears poured down your skin, never ceasing, your teeth grit into a grin of agony. Hannah's tormented visage above you became misty and indescribable.

Suddenly, you were so deathly afraid. Deathly afraid to die. Because what happened when she finally jerked your head to the right? What happened when everything went pitch black? Was that it? No more you? No more thoughts, no more fears? Was there anything waiting for you, or would it all just...end?

The thought of utter nothingness swallowing you whole...

In your final moments, you had never been so terrified.

...Except...

...Except these weren't your final moments at all...

Just...moments. Horrible moments, undoubtedly, but like everything else, they would come to pass. They came to pass as soon as Josh crept up behind Hannah and slammed the edge of the shovel against her temple, sending her flying to the side, clawed hands ripping away from your delicate skin, and leaving only scratches in their wake.

Dazed, and somewhat confused, you looked up at the boy who had saved you. His expression was knit tightly into one of pure fury, but he had no time to keep glowering at the twisted creature, who writhed in agony a metre away from him, gripping her head.

Hannah then turned it with a snap, and screamed at him in a deafening, heinous roar. Josh flinched a little, but stood strong, and when she leapt for him again, he swung the shovel with every ounce of Wendigo-infused energy that he had. You watched in utter awe as her body tumbled like a limp ragdoll, flinging itself through the air, grinding across the floor, before slamming against the far wall of the mine.

She lay there, motionless.

But she wouldn't be for long, and you and Josh both knew this. Immediately, as if you had suddenly realized something, you shot to your feet, just in time for Josh to snatch your arm and run with you once again. Not once did you turn your head, not even to take one last look at Beth.

Truth be told, you never wanted to see her again.


	8. Chapter 7

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

 **A/N:** Back with a new update! I just wanna say thanks so much to **Jojobean209** , **Acro111** and **IslaElizabeth** for the reviews, reading that you all enjoy the story so much just motivates me to write more! Also, thanks to everyone that has favourited and followed _Penumbra._ It means a lot!

* * *

"Psychopath..."

 _I'm not sorry...  
_ "Psychopath!"  
 _They were the ones who hurt **me**!  
_ "It's always about you Josh...it's always all about you..."  
 _I...I didn't mean for this to happen...  
_ "You couldn't lift a goddamned _finger..._ to _help_ someone else!"  
 _...I know...but I can at least help her...  
_  
"Can you feel...how cold your loneliness has become?"

 _...I'm not alone anymore..._

"Josh! Hey Josh-!"

Your hand met his shoulder, and shook it gently. Though you understood why he was so exhausted, now was a very bad time to rest. The both of you were still down there in that wretched mine, and although there was no nearby sign or sound of her, you knew that Hannah wouldn't be far behind. Now that Josh had turned on her, you suspected you were both seen as equal game.

Just as he had protected you, you too wanted to protect him. But it was hard to protect a deranged half-Wendigo when he was slumped against the wall like this, head in his hands, rocking gently and whimpering soft, incoherent gibberish. Around you, the lamps you had lit on the walls flickered, and cast mad, writhing shadows across the stone. He had carried you as far as the elevator before he had collapsed, and for that you were grateful. But to your dismay, you'd only found a broken grate in the shaft, one that was slightly dented, as if something heavy had fallen upon it.

It was no use trying here. You had to keep going, and that meant waking Josh from his bad state. You couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like for him, and you pitied him, of course you did. But you had to make him move, somehow...or you'd be captured in Hannah's claws once again.

"Fuck...I really don't want to do this but..." Sighing, you raised your hand, and struck him across the face. You probably put too much effort behind it, not realising your own strength, for his entire upper body jerked to the side, and you heard a sharp yelp.  
"AH-!"  
"Sorry!" You immediately gasped, then shook your head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hit you so hard..."

Josh blinked a few times, before finally raising his head straight again and looking at you with dazed, glazed, startled eyes. His jagged mouth hung slightly ajar, and you knew you'd probably have left a small bruise on his lightly-tanned skin after doing that. Nonetheless, he didn't turn on you, or attack you. He simply watched you with weary eyes, until he eventually got himself together.

"...[Y/N]..."  
His voice was croaky and hoarse, it sounded as if he had a mound of sand in his throat. But even then, hearing him say your name gave you so much hope. You were determined. You'd make sure he became human again. You'd make _sure_ of it.  
"I'm here, okay, but listen Josh-" you took him by the shoulders and bowed your head a little, "-we really, _really_ gotta get out of here, like now. Hannah is gonna come for us if we stay here."

He blinked a few more times again...before turning his head and glancing at the empty shaft.  
"...Elevator...?"  
"Broken." You answered, and exhaled softly. "It's annoying, but we'll just have to find another one that works."

Josh watched you closely, and didn't answer for a while. His eyes glimmered with emotion, more than you had ever seen from him since you had discovered his new form. Hell, you swore that he wasn't even looking as...'Wendigo' as before. He just seemed a lot more human, but then again, how could he not look that way to you after you'd seen Hannah up close?

"...Hurt?" he eventually asked, and you gave him a weak smile.  
"I'm a little sore, but you saved me before she could do anything serious-" Your hand crept up to your jaw, and the back of your neck. Fingertips gracing moist patches, you jerked your digits away and saw the crimson upon them. "...Looks like I'm a little more injured than I thought...heh..."

Your laugh sounded hollow. Everything you were doing was hollow. That fake smile. The calm speech.  
You nearly _died_ back there. You had experienced a fear so potent that you could have suffocated on it. You had quite literally teetered on the brink of death, completely helpless to the cruel whims of the creature that had once been your best friend.

Yet here you were. Laughing in that empty tone, pretending that you weren't about to break down and sob wildly and sit in a puddle of your own piss and tears for the next ten hours. Pretending that you weren't about to throw your head back and start laughing forever, unable to be woken from your mad stupor even if someone hit you as hard as you'd hit Josh. Pretending that you were this brave, angelic little thing, that couldn't lose even in the face of true terror. Pretending...pretending...pretending.

Maybe _that_ was true madness.

"...I'm not hurt...but I think I'm broken..."  
Your hair obscured your eyes, while Josh tilted his head and watched you curiously.  
"...Hannah was...I...I really cared for her..." you wiped your eyes on the back of your hand, "...and she...she wanted to tear me apart. All because I made one stupid mistake, and didn't stop that fucking prank when I had the chance..."

Josh made a moaning noise in his throat, and you felt something creep under your chin. Realising it was his hand, you looked up a little as he gently raised your head, careful not to grace your delicate skin with his claws. While he tilted your chin up, he saw the tears, and his other hand hesitantly closed in. He jerked it back a few times, as if he wasn't sure about touching you more, but when you showed no sign of repulsion, he softly wiped away the salt-water.

Sniffing, you gave him a smile, and though it quivered, it was a real one this time.  
"...Josh...I owe you my life. You saved me. Hell you...you attacked your own sister..." You spoke with sadness in your voice. "I know it must have been hard-"

To your surprise, he shook his head adamantly.  
"Not Hannah. Not her." Josh said, and your eyes widened. Then you nodded understandingly.  
"You're right. She's not there anymore, is she."

However, he shook his head again, and tapped his temple with one clear claw. Frowning a little, you waited for him to explain.  
"In here."  
"Inside your head?" You asked him, tilting your own. He slowly pulled his hand away from his brow-line and nodded slowly and calmly.

"She...knows...everything..."

You swallowed thickly. Your throat was unbelievably dry. Of course, Josh wasn't exactly right in the head, and the Wendigo infection probably wasn't helping much either. Maybe he did imagine that Hannah was always there, watching him, threatening him. In a way, you sometimes felt that way yourself. The guilt made it feel like they had never really left. And after the experience you had just had...

"Said she...would hurt you..." Josh pointed towards you, and you tensed a little, even though you already felt like a rock.  
"She...she did?"  
"Mm." He nodded, and shakily stood. You immediately shot to your feet too, offering him a hand, but he ignored it. At least he was walking okay, as he ambled towards the elevator shaft and looked inside it. For just a moment, you frowned. Did he not believe you or something?

"We're trapped until we find another elevator." You told him, walking up to his back. His denim overalls were stained with patches of crimson and dark black dirt, the fabric worn and torn, some spots showing what you were sure had to be claw marks.  
Josh turned to you with a weary expression, and his ashen face looked even paler for a moment.  
"...Here..." He muttered, and before you could even say a word, his arm had looped around the back of your legs, his other hugging your side as he suddenly lifted you up into his embrace.

"Josh-!" You yelped with surprise, but he hushed you quickly, pulling your legs up close to his chest so he could briefly place his finger on his lips, the claw just brushing the tip of his nose. He lowered his hand again and supported you better while his eyes darted around and scanned the place, before he started walking again.

Your heart was pounding, but it wasn't just fear that was causing it. As you gently rested against his chest, trying to hear his heartbeat, you found your cheeks getting warm. Realizing you must have been flushing, you quickly turned your head against his front, hiding the pink shade in the shadows of his clothes.

Josh didn't focus on that anyway. He was far too preoccupied with checking his surroundings, always wary for the slightest sign of danger. As he carried you further through the mines, it grew dark again, until everything took on a dim blue tinge. Occasionally, dusty little sprinkles of rock would fall from the ceiling and clatter against the ground, as if to remind you both that Wendigos weren't the only thing to worry about in these mines.

"I...I think we dealt with most of them in the fire..." You whispered up to Josh, deciding to break the silence, but only slightly. You were hopeful that it might put his mind at ease, since he was practically quivering with uneasiness, his head constantly darting around at the slightest sound or flicker. "And Mike said he killed some in the Sanatorium. Hannah's probably the only one left..."

Your eyes lowered.

 _For now..._

…

"Well, this mountain don't belong to me, it's true. But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain belongs to the Wendigo..."

"...The what?" Mike scoffed, and folded his arms, while he judgementally scanned The Stranger before him. This rugged, flamethrower man, had just marched into the lodge without so much as an invite, and you had to admit, you were just as baffled as Mike.  
"'Wendigo'? What the hell's a 'Wendigo'?" He continued, and rolled his eyes. "C'mon dude-"

"It's...some sort of Native American spirit, right?" You piped up, and everyone glanced at you for a moment. You weren't the type that liked to show off your knowledge or anything, and having all your friends (and this random man) look at you did make you shift in your seat a bit.  
"That it is." He gruffly nodded, seemingly somewhat impressed that a 'young'un' like you actually knew what he was talking about. The Stranger paced around calmly, setting his bag down while he explained the situation.

"The Wendigo rises from cannibalism. If one human were to eat another on this cursed mountain...they would become one themselves." He told you all.

"Oh God..." Sam gasped, and looked over at Emily. "Em, didn't you say-"  
"Beth...Hannah..." Emily covered her face with her hands and groaned. "Oh fuck..."

"Well what now, what do we do!?" Chris exclaimed, and everyone looked towards the mysterious character, awaiting an answer. His scarred eyes surveyed them, and narrowed.  
"I ran in when I heard you screaming." You suddenly stood, looking at Em, and then at Mike.  
He stared at you. "Oh fuck...Josh."

Biting your lip, you nodded your head. Immediately you were awash with guilt. Mike and Chris had left you to take care of Josh, they had trusted you to stay calm enough with him throughout the night, given that the two of you were close.  
And you had abandoned him. Hearing Emily's frantic cries, you had rushed to help, without even thinking about the consequences of your actions.

"I-I need to find him!" You insisted, and The Stranger approached you, holding his weapon ready. It was a little intimidating to be honest, even though you knew he was just trying to help.  
"Where did you leave him?" he asked in a deep, husky tone.  
"...In the shed...outside..." You replied uneasily, and he simply nodded, pursing his lips as they curled upwards in a grimace.

"Your friend will already be dead."

Your face went paler than the snow. No...that wasn't true.  
Another death...you couldn't take having the responsibility for yet another loss. You'd straight up break if you had to, you couldn't handle this...

"No, he can't be!" Chris suddenly stood and shook his head. "Someone just needs to go out there and find him-"  
"Then you'd join him soon enough." The Stranger spoke, and clicked his tongue, before shifting stance and walking calmly towards the door. " _I'll_ see if I can find your friend. But don't get your hopes up."  
He glanced around sharply at the group.  
"And DO NOT leave this lodge. Under ANY circumstances."

But that wasn't enough for you. You weren't satisfied. You felt responsible...you had to do _something_...

"I'm going too!" You suddenly blurted out, and Ashley gasped sharply as you rushed up behind the man, grasping his elbow so he wouldn't take another step.  
"[Y/N], no-!" Ash begged in an almost silent voice, as The Stranger turned, cold eyes settling upon your smaller form. Yet there was a warmth there, one you saw for just a brief moment. A lingering humanity.

Though he might have hardened his exterior, this man was still a man. Fragile, like any of you...yet he was willing to venture out there into the Wendigo-infested freeze, on the off-chance that Josh might still be alive.

In a way, it seemed wrong to let him go alone in the first place.

"Are you sure-" The Stranger seemed to be considering your offer, but then Chris shoved himself suddenly between the two of you.  
"No! No, no, she's not...she, she doesn't know what she's talking about-" Chris spoke frantically, and looked round at you with a begging expression. You simply frowned.  
"I _do_ know what I'm talking about, Chris! Josh is out there, and the least I can do is try to find him!" You snapped. "It's my fault in the first place!"

You paused, and glanced aside.  
"I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him because of me. Never."

Chris's expression calmed, and softened into one of sadness. Josh was his best friend too. And if you were willing...  
No. He had to protect you. Josh wasn't the only one he cared about here.

"Th-then I'm coming too!" He insisted, looking back at the Wendigo hunter, who stood ready, and already seemed tired of all the talk.  
"Fine, but enough discussion." The Stranger replied, and continued walking through from the lounge, and towards the door. Chris followed, and you hurried after him.

"Chris, you can't!" You tried to reason, unable to even fathom the burden of them both dying.  
"[Y/N], I'm _not_ letting you die too, okay?" He sighed, and shook his head. "And...if Josh is still alive...then I have a duty to save him as well."  
"Chris..." You breathed.

"Alright, now listen to me, and listen close." The Stranger ordered shortly after, now that the three of you were gathered in the entryway. "Now, our best hope is that we don't encounter anything out there, but since that ain't gonna happen, I have a plan."  
"Okay, what is it?" Chris questioned impatiently.

The older man peered out through the frosted glass, then back round at the two of you.  
"One of you is gonna come with me, and scope out the area, see if we can find any signs of your friend. The other will be a lookout, you'll linger behind and keep your eyes peeled for anything dangerous. It'll be up to you to let us know if you see a Wendigo coming."

Immediately, you noted Chris's glasses, and took a sharp step forward.  
"I'll be the lookout."  
"Good."  
"What!? No!" Chris shook his head, but it was already decided. The Stranger approached him and handed him a well-crafted, but still rather worn out shotgun.  
"Alright, then you'll accompany me." He tapped the metal barrel. "Point that end towards the thing you wanna kill."

"I know how to use a shotgun, man." Chris rolled his eyes.  
The Stranger merely smirked. "Trust me, you don't."

Your friend let out a heavy sigh as the man opened the door, letting in a blistering wind. You cowered slightly in the cold, but forced yourself outside. Chris was meant to go first, but you had noticed Ashley coming over, and a brief glance after you followed The Stranger proved your intuition correct.

It had only been for a moment, but the image of their kiss lingered in your mind. As Ashley waved to you through the glass with a concerned expression, and you wearily returned the gesture alongside Chris, your mind reeled. Not with jealousy, no. But with a sort of envy that really came down to you and Josh.

Would he ever...kiss you like that?

Now wasn't exactly the best time for such thoughts though, and so you quickly shook yourself free of them and continued on your way. The Stranger led, and the two of you followed, with Chris in the middle, and you at the back. You must have only strayed a few meters behind them, but in the circumstances it felt like a mile. Now the fear was overpowering the determination, and your eyes frantically darted around in search of the slightest movement. Any noise, any flicker, no matter how small, tempted you to call out to the two who trod the path before you. Part of you even wanted to run back into the lodge again. Would they really notice if you slipped away? You weren't that far...you could probably make it up the path alright if you were quick...

Then you thought of Josh. Josh, and his cheeky grin whenever he cracked the lamest jokes. Josh, and the way he'd calmly smile whenever you struck up a conversation with him. Josh, and those wide, childlike eyes that could read every inch of you. Josh, and that teasing tone he'd take when he noticed you blushing. Josh, and the happiness that would vanish from his face, whenever he was reminded of that dreadful night. Josh, and his corrupted voice, echoing around you as you watched your friends being tortured. Josh, and the feeling of his rough-gloved hand around your ankle, as he ripped you from your hiding place. Josh, and that manic look he gave you, as he struggled in his binds and screamed about how you loved everyone but him.

Could you really abandon him?

When you watched The Stranger die that night, you knew it was too late.  
If only...you'd had the courage to kiss him goodbye...

…

"Take a break Josh, you're wheezing again." You urged, and this time he listened, conceding, and setting you down before sitting in the old wooden chair, which only creaked slightly under his weight. All that extra padding probably wasn't helping.

"Here-"  
After surveying the little shack, concluding that it was just a simple miner's hut down here in the depths, you approached the Wendigo boy and crouched before him. Your hands unclipped the overall straps before he could even begin to notice, and it was only when they slid down his shirt that he yelped and shoved you back.

You stumbled, but caught your balance, staggering backwards by only a few steps. Blinking innocently, you watched him as he covered himself like some kind of humiliated anime girl exposed in the shower. Well, you weren't about to molest him, and you weren't about to hurt him either, as you tried to explain.  
"I'm just going to remove the padding from your disguise, it'll help lighten the load, okay? Then we won't have to keep stopping so much." You scratched your neck, and murmured an afterthought; "...And I won't feel so fucking fat..."

"..." Josh lowered his arms after a few moments, but he did it slowly, and it was a good minute before you finally got access again. When you pulled his shirt up and started removing the fabric stuffing, he squirmed. Every time your fingers accidentally graced his bare skin, he flushed, and admittedly, you did too. It was ridiculous that you were both getting so worked up over something like this, but at the same time, maybe it was a good sign.

Looking up and seeing him blushing...  
Seeing a little smile creep onto his lips when you grinned.

Maybe you hadn't lost him after all.


	9. Chapter 8

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 8  
**

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks again to everyone who left reviews and faves on _Penumbra_ , it's truly awesome to get so much support for my work! I'm planning about 10 chapters total, so things are definitely starting to ramp up ;)

* * *

"Oh...isn't that sweet..."

Your eyes flashed open. Your back was wet. You were staring at a cloudy grey sky, and when you sat up, you saw that you were surrounded by solid black trees. It wasn't daytime, but everywhere was white, obnoxiously luminescent. It almost stung your eyes to look, and you were tempted to close them, and lay back down again.

So you did.

You heard and felt something by your right ear. Then your left. Something that sounded like a boot, crunching down through the top layer of the thick snow.

Your eyes opened again.

She stood over you with her hands stuffed snugly in Beth's pink parka. Her feet rested either side of your head, and she wore a smug expression. Pulling one hand out of its cosy confines, Hannah raised it to her glasses, and adjusted them on her nose.

"I'm truly touched."

Your hand was warm. You looked over to your left.

A boy lay there. His tan face, dusted with the lightest sprinkling of natural freckles- almost indiscernible unless you got this close- was resting in a perfect picture of tranquillity. His eyes were closed, the lashes giving him an almost feminine look. His lips were slightly parted as he gently breathed in the cold air, and huffed out warmth. His soft black hair was slightly dishevelled, making it look like he had been sleeping for a while.

And maybe he had.  
You didn't know how long you had been here.

But you didn't want to leave.

You looked up again.  
Hannah was gone.  
You liked it better that way.

Good riddance.

…

"JOSH!"

You jolted upwards in a flash, and the boy next to you jumped to his feet, scrambling backwards away from you and cowering by the wall. Blinking, you registered your surroundings again. Dark. Cold. A lantern flickered by your feet, but it did little to illuminate the shack you were lying in.

After wetting your sleep-dried lips a few times, you looked up at the guy whose name you had screamed. He looked understandably alarmed.  
"...How...how long have I been asleep?"

Josh fidgeted a bit, then pointed to a small clock on the desk, tapping his nail around the 6 o'clock mark.  
"Half an hour?" You asked, and he nodded. Sighing, you got to your feet, and immediately groaned, hand going to your back and rubbing it. "Agh...fuck...remind me not to take a nap on any more cave floors, okay?"  
Josh simply stared at you blankly.

-Before suddenly taking your wrist, and pulling you over to the desk. You gasped and staggered over, still feeling rather woozy from your dream, but your eyes quickly adjusted and focussed when you saw him pointing at the ragged map. His long nail was circling around one particular spot, somewhere in the mine. After observing for a longer moment, you realized that it wasn't far from 'YOU ARE HERE'. And the word 'elevator', inked neatly above the area, was even more promising.

"Then that's our ticket out of here, right?" You looked to Josh hopefully. He shrugged, and nodded, to which you responded with a happy beam.  
"Nice one, Josh-"

Without thinking, you pulled him into a hug, gently resting your face in the crook of his neck.  
He tensed immediately.

When he shoved you back, this time it was a lot harder than before, and the wind was knocked out of you as you slammed back up against the makeshift wooden wall.  
"AH-! Hahh!" You coughed, and glanced at him weakly, slowly pushing away from the splintered surface.

Josh was doubled over. His hands were clamped around his head, nails digging into his temples, and he was letting out a dull grumble, occasionally punctured by frightened whimpers. Edging towards him, you slowly reached out with your right hand.  
"Josh...-"

Your wrist was snatched, and the world lurched as he hauled you towards him. Again, you found your face in his chest, but this time _he_ was the one hugging _you_. And that hug only got tighter and tighter, until you couldn't breathe, and your ribs felt like they might snap.  
"J-o...sh!"  
Choking, you used what little space you had to try and push back against him, to try and sever yourself from his embrace. He flinched when you touched his chest, and his arms loosened slightly around you, enough to let you move back a bit and look up at his face.

Those [E/C] eyes of yours widened, and your pupils shrank to pinpricks.

He was smiling. But it wasn't joking or gentle or teasing. His lips were pulled wide into a sinister grin, baring his sharp, shark-like teeth. His clouded eyes were wide at first, but slowly narrowed, and his tongue drew a line along the bottom of his mouth.

You realized that your arms were bleeding. His nails had dug in so deep to the flesh that rivulets of scarlet now trickled down the length of it, oozing between your limp fingers. Tearing up, you let out a soft whimper, as you looked up at the boy you had loved, and now failed to recognise.

"N-...no...don't..."

It was so pathetic, to hear yourself beg like that, and it was suddenly like Hannah all over again. Your heart pounded faster and faster like a frantic drum in your chest. Josh was going to kill you. Why else would he look at you that way? Why else would he be leaning down, closer to your neck, jaw opening wide around your jugular?

His warm breath tickled your delicate skin, and you shut your eyes tight, letting one final plea taint the air.  
"...Don't..."

…

"DON'T! NO!"

" _Hahahaha! HAHAHA!_ "  
"[Y/N]!"  
Maniacal laughter resounded around you, as a firm hand clamped round your ankle, and started pulling you from underneath the bed. The wooden floor slipped through your fingers, and in your desperation you reached out and clung to the nearest thing. Your arms ended up wrapping themselves round the leg as best as they could, and you clung to the pole like it was a long lost family member.

Your own leg was yanked harder, and you yelped as you were nearly forced to let go of your lifeline. Towering over you, the Psycho cackled to himself as he toyed with you. It would probably be easy for him to just grab both your legs and overpower you, but he wanted to give you a chance, a fleeting hope that you might get away safely.

Slender fingers quickly reached for you, as she cried your name.

You tried to think back to where it had all gone to shit.  
Maybe when you'd watched one of your best friends get torn apart by a bloody saw?  
Or maybe when you and Sam had been cornered by the biggest nutjob on Blackwood Mountain?

Sam and you had been standing there in the cinema room, and you had both watched that frightening film. The maniac was sick. Sam in the bathtub...you on the couch watching TV, and then...  
...Josh.  
At first you had screamed. Then you had got angry.

When the Psycho burst in, you didn't want to run away so much as you wanted to run him through, and it was only Sam's quick-thinking that got you out of there, with her deftly thrown vase catching him off guard and giving you both just the slightest chance of escaping.

You both ran from him, through the side door and into one of the guest bedrooms. Obviously unused, given how many dust laden boxes were crowding it, but both you and Sam could quickly see that those boxes wouldn't provide much camouflage.  
"Under the bed, quick!" Sam urged, and you dropped to your knees, crawling under with her. The wooden floor burned while you frantically pulled yourself along it, but you ignored the pain and curled up, pressing your chest down as flat as it would go.

Sam joined you there, and you both held your breath and bided your time. That was until you nearly let it out in a frightened gasp, when the door slammed open all of a sudden. Someone large and terrifying trudged into the room, and although the moments silence briefly gave you hope, the laughter that broke it took it away just as quickly.

And there you found yourself, crying and screaming as you desperately tried to connect your grip with Sam's. She was stretching out for you as she tried to manoeuvre out from under the bed, but the tight space made it hard for her to reach back that far.

The bedframe slipped from your hand, and for a second, you thought you were done. As your legs were pulled to his, you wondered if you might have stood a chance, had you chosen differently.  
 _I'm such a coward.  
_ _Why didn't I run?_

Yet something suddenly pulled you back. There was a hefty grunt, as two firm hands gripped your wrists hard enough to bruise, and pulled you forwards with admirable force, yanking you from the Psycho's grip. Sam had managed to reach you, and just in time too. Immediately, the blonde girl forced herself out from under the bed, emerging on the other side with you in tow. You scrambled to your feet, and followed her, hearing what sounded like an irritated scoff sounding from behind you. Sam's efforts had saved you, and had given you both enough time to run down into the basement.

But it was in the basement that you had lost her.

"Don't move..."  
She had whispered to you, one arm held out protectively, the other hand quickly clicking the flashlight off before the Psycho entered the room. The two of you stood there behind that wall for what felt like an eternity, listening to him taunt you, even going as far as to bastardize some of your favourite movies in the process.

And you swore, you _swore_ you didn't move, neither of you did. But his head still snapped round, and he still laughed and grinned behind that mask as he pursued you both. Sam was lithe on her feet and she rushed forward with you, but was obviously too preoccupied with your safety as supposed to her own. The Psycho caught her round the waist before she could realize, and your hand slipped from hers.

Stumbling back against some boxes, you watched in horror as your friend had her mouth muzzled by a translucent mask, and her eyes rolled up inside her head. She dropped to the floor, bath-towel and all, and the Psycho then turned to you, purring out his words.

" _No escape now..."_

As he lunged for you, your trembling hand brushed against something smooth, and without thinking, you grabbed the solid object and swung it forth with all your might. The baseball bat cracked against the side of his head before flying from your grasp and clattering against the ground a little ways from you.

The man let out a horrible, distorted scream, and you wasted no time. You ran, silently apologizing to Sam for leaving her behind, but also silently swearing that you would avenge her. She still stood a chance. It was better to lure the Psycho away and give both of you a chance of surviving, than to simply stand there and sacrifice yourself. Her efforts couldn't be for naught. She'd want you to run.

Your body slammed against the thick wooden door, and you gasped out, desperately pushing your whole weight against it. Behind you, you could hear him closing in. Heavy footsteps. The clang of metal on metal. Frantically, you scanned the area for a handle, since the one for the door was inexplicably missing. Probably another twisted trap.

Spotting something atop a wine cabinet beside you, you decided that it was better to act than do nothing. With rapidly trembling hands, you snatched the sides of the fine oak piece, and yanked backwards with every ounce of might in your body.

Closing in...  
He'd catch you soon, you had to be quick.

" _Don't try to run."_

His voice was cruel and callous, and it practically froze your spine. Yet you still managed, successfully tipping the shelf over. There was a loud smash as glass and wood met concrete, but you didn't care for the mess you'd made. Your wide and startled eyes tailed the doorknob that was rolling across the floor, and you immediately snatched the ornate piece for yourself, before running to the door and slamming it haphazardly into the gap. Miraculously, it fit, and with a firm turn you forced your way through.

Shatters and snaps rushed up behind you, as the maniac trod quickly forward through the broken furniture, and hurried to catch you. In the briefest moment, you turned, and your throat went numb.  
He was there. Right there. Twisted mask and tattered gloves reaching for you.

Thankfully the door cut him off before you could be snatched, and you locked it.

BANG.

Suddenly, the door reverberated with a loud boom of noise, and you squeaked, looking up to see a cloaked hand shoving its way through the peep slot, fingers scrabbling across the wood as they tried to reach for you, or the lock, or anything. Though you didn't even want to get close, you reached up and grabbed the cover, and with a hefty heave you yanked it to the side, forcing his invading arm to retreat-

...Then, silence.

Your heart had never beat so fast. Your tongue was dry and swollen, and your knees twitched and trembled as you took hesitant steps backwards. The sight of the door shrank, until you were a good few metres away. Still, he hadn't broken through, and you couldn't hear a sound.

 _Did he give up?  
_ _No...he's probably planning something._

You were smart enough to realise that at least. Your eyes frantically scanned the area even as you calmed down some, soothing your breathing as you walked through the musty storage room and over to another door. At first, you held back. Was he waiting on the other side?  
No...if the layout of this house made any sense at all, he wouldn't be able to get there.

Yet when you pushed the door open, and you tripped, and you fell, and your knees were pierced by broken splinters of rotten wood, you realized how wrong you had been. Whimpering and groaning as you struggled to your feet again, you surveyed your surroundings, and saw something you didn't expect.

What had once been the Washington basement, had now turned into a long and ruined corridor, clouded with dust motes and littered with broken structures. There was a sour smell in the air, probably mould. Did Josh know this was here? The door opened easily enough...but what was this doing down here? This place...

Gulping, you forced onwards anyway, not wanting to take chances. Careful to watch your step and avoid any more injuries, you stared ahead with torch in hand. The hallway stretched off into the deepest darkness you had ever seen. You couldn't make out a single thing. Honestly, you didn't really want to go that way...even if there _was_ a killer coming after you.  
Wait...what the fuck were you saying?

"I must be out of my mind..." You whispered ever so lowly to yourself, your voice so raspy that it wouldn't carry far anyway. It was just the dark. Only children were afraid of the dark.

Yet, like a timely gift, you came across a grate in the wall, that looked like it led into some kind of elevator shaft. It seemed like it was the only viable place to hide, at least, if you didn't want to get crushed by falling debris or anything. And you would take any alternative to the shadows ahead of you...  
Swallowing thickly, you crouched by the edge and looked inside. The floor was low enough that you could curl up there and avoid being seen. If you turned off your torch, it would probably be too dark for him to see you too. Though you hated to take the coward's way again, you concluded that it was the best option you had.

So you lowered yourself inside and pressed your back to the inner wall, switching off your torch and pulling your knees to your chest. And there you sat, and waited, and wondered.  
 _This place is so creepy. Is it like a hotel or something? I think I remember Chris mentioning something like that...  
_ No noise yet, but you knew he had to be coming...  
 _I hope Sam is okay. Maybe I shouldn't have run. What if he... **kills** her...like he did with Josh?  
_ _But then again, he video-taped her in the bath...so maybe...  
_ _Oh Jesus...I really hope that's not what he's after..._

You shut your eyes tight and scrunched up your forehead.  
 _Sam...I'm so sorry..._

Footsteps. Getting closer. Metal on metal, again.  
" _Here kitty kitty..."  
_ You grit your teeth behind your lips, and kept your eyes closed. You couldn't see anything anyway. But you could hear everything...

His muffled breathing, like he was wearing some toy Vader mask. The sound of his ridged heels kicking up dust while they took calm steps to your location. Judging by how close he sounded, he was probably right above you.  
" _Here pussy pussy..."  
_ And if he chose to peek in now...he would probably spot you.

Tears welled behind your eyelids. You had never been so scared by silence in your life. Had he found you? Was he reaching down for you right now, ready to snatch you up by your scalp?  
Was this it?

" _URGH!"  
_ A loud grunt of frustration, and the footsteps walked away. You waited until they trailed off completely, before letting out the air from your lungs in a massive wheeze. Your eyes opened wide, and the tears trickled freely, as you clutched your heart and tried to calm yourself. You seriously felt as if you might have a heart attack or something.

But there was no time to lose.  
Maybe this shaft lead somewhere. Maybe not.

All you knew...was that had to find some way to stop him. Find some way to save your friends.  
And find some way...to avenge Josh...

…

Yet how could you 'avenge' the boy who had been behind it all from the start?  
How could you stand in defence of a monster?

Josh was frozen. His arms still held you tight, and his maw was still hovering over your jugular, yet he had been seized solid. The reality of the situation seeped its way inside his head, and with slow and methodical movements, he removed his arms from you, snapped his jaw shut, and staggered backwards. Looking up at him, you saw how wide and pale his eyes looked. How petrified he was.

 _No. He's not a monster.  
_ _He's just someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  
_ _Just like his sisters..._

"...Oh...oh no...no..."  
He slowly raised a clawed hand to his mouth, eyes fixated on you as it finally registered. What he had really been about to do to you. So hungry, so desperate, so enthralled by the way you looked and smelt and probably tasted. In those few minutes that he had been possessed, you had been nothing but meat in his eyes.

And he was horrified.  
How could he even come close to hurting you? After all you had done for him...after you had stood by him...tried to understand...

Even back then, in the torture room, where Chris and Ashley were strapped down with tear soaked faces, and you had stood there and spoken in that calm tone of voice, as if you could never judge him;

" _Josh...I know the truth. I saw the texts, I saw the medical records, the plans you drew up. You had this planned from the beginning..."  
_ " _Just be honest with us Josh, please!"  
_ " _Be honest with **me**..."_

But he couldn't bear to be. Josh knew now what a fool he'd been. He had even sat there in that shed and threatened you. Made false claims that he would hurt you if you even dared to piss him off.  
And maybe they weren't even false. That was what scared him the most.  
Because when he thought of you getting all cozy with Chris or Matt or Mike, his mind turned to ash and all he could taste was bile.

Normally, he would think it was just because he needed you, like any other clingy, desperate person. Yet just moments ago he tried to kill you.

You were coming closer. Reaching out for him. Trying yet again to understand his fucked up mind and his fucked up ways, as if you could somehow justify them. And the closer you got, the more he could smell your scent, and the temptation rose again...

That voice returned. It echoed inside his head like white noise, horrendously ruthless in tone and talk.

" _...Josh..."  
_ "No...no no no..."  
" _Kill her. Avenge me. She's ruining you..."  
_ "I...I can't...no..."  
" _You can. And you want to...I know it. I see it Josh..."  
_ "N-no...no..."  
" _Look at yourself...LOOK!"_

His head turned sharply to the left, and his eyes settled on a broken, dirt-encrusted mirror that must have been left by the miner that used this little shack. As filthy as the glass was, he saw himself clear as day within it.

He saw the sharp teeth that were pushing his lips back, the thin, stretched skin that had turned a wretched grey hue, the ash-coated claws that tugged at his temples, and those startling blue eyes, that had already lost all semblance of humanity.

Monster. A monster.  
That was all he saw.

" _That's right...because that's **exactly what you are**..."_

"Josh-"  
No sooner had your hand gently met his cheek, than he bolted out of the room. You were left reeling in his wake as he ran off at an inhuman speed, abandoning you there in that piece of preserved history. Blinking, it took you a few moments to adjust to what had happened.

And then you were off too, racing after him with determination.  
A determination to bring him back safe to his friends, to help him return to normalcy and live happily again.

And a rising fear...that it was already too late.


	10. Chapter 9

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 9**

* * *

 **A/N:** Again, thanks for all the faves and follows, and to Acro111 and Agnes for your reviews. And Agnes, just keep your fingers crossed! X'D. Anyway, the final part is scheduled for release tomorrow, and I think the finale of this coincides nicely with this time of year, where everyone is getting hyped for Halloween :D

* * *

Yet again, he chose to run away.

Run away from his problems.  
Run away from his fears.  
Run away from you.

And the guilt quickly set in.

As Josh's own Wendigo-fuelled footsteps carried him far far away from you, and ever deeper into the mine, he was haunted by thoughts of what would happen to you now that you were alone. If you died, or were hurt, he could only hold himself responsible. He had abandoned you...

But what would have happened if he had stayed? What if he had properly attacked you, shoved you down and tore you apart just so he could get to that precious carmine flesh of yours? Exposed your ribcage, and everything that kept you running...ate every piece until there was nothing left but a head, serving as some sort of makeshift trophy?

You'd have died then too. And it would have been worse. You, killed by him. Him, killing you.  
Neither party won in that sort of situation.

 _At least...she stands a chance if I leave her now...  
_ _I just can't bear to...I can't...I can't..._

Josh gripped his head and stumbled while he ran, cutting a haphazard zigzag across the rock-laden path.

 _I'm...a monster. But I...don't want her to remember me that way..._

And just like that, his thoughts seem to finalize it. He wouldn't be going back to see you again. He hoped he wouldn't meet you again.  
That was it. It had been a lousy farewell, but a farewell nonetheless.

In his eyes...it was done.

…

But in your eyes, it wasn't.

You didn't care what Josh was, or what he _thought_ he was, or what he looked like, or whatever. To you, he was still Josh. He still pulled back before he bit you. He still ran away because he wanted to protect you. That proved his humanity was still there, at least fully enough to tinge his actions with morality.

And so long as there was still a part of Josh that was the boy you knew, you weren't going to give up on him. So, relentlessly, you chased him through the mines, hopping and leaping over any debris in your path, ducking under uneven stalactites that had formed below the ceiling.

Yet as fast as your legs carried you, they weren't speedy enough to catch him. You lost sight, then sound of him, and eventually you were alone. Though you kept running at full pelt on the straight paths, any crossroads would cause you to stop and consider for a few moments, guess, then proceed. It had turned into a wild goose chase, but you were determined nonetheless. You had gone through worse than this to come after him, after all. Hannah nearly ripping your head off was still a vivid memory...

You came to another crossroads, a split between a sloping path and a narrow crevasse, when suddenly there was a loud noise. It sounded in the distance, like some sort of scream, but it was so distorted that you couldn't determine whether it was human or not. Listening closely to the lingering echo, you determined that it had come from the fissure in the wall, and without wasting a single second, you squeezed yourself through.

Now, you weren't claustrophobic, but you doubted anyone would feel comfortable when they were in a space this tight, especially in a place as creepy as this. The walls of stone around you were slightly moist and clammy, and seemed to cling to your skin as you pushed through. Stray pieces of jagged rock that jutted out caught on your clothes and flesh, tearing each equally. You ignored the feeling of blood oozing from your palms and arms, and the wet smears of dirt that coated your cheeks, as you urged yourself onwards.

Breathing faster...your mind started to reel as you ventured deeper into the crack. What if it only got narrower and narrower as you went along? What if, eventually, you stopped being able to move forward, and couldn't move back either? Imagine getting stuck here...all alone...dying a slow and dehydrated death...while your lungs were squeezed, your body trapped in a natural vice.

However, eventually, thankfully, you forced your body out into a wide open area, with walkable structures that extended rather high on either side of you. Partially broken fences of wire mesh lined the area, and part of an iron ladder lay in the dirt to your right, along with a wide hole which you made sure to avoid. And with narrowed eyes, you peered into the darkness on your left, seeing something red, and flickering, which grew larger as you walked into the centre of the area.

As your gaze adjusted to the dim light, you realized that the erratic red glow was coming from some kind of switch, and said switch was inside an old elevator. The fact that any light was coming from it at all told you that it was still functional...hopefully.

 _That's our way out of here...  
_ _I just need to find Josh first, and then we can finally leave this fucking place..._

…

" _Josh...Josh...Josh..."  
_ "WHAT!?"

His screaming exclamation resounded throughout the cavern, but a hand quickly expunged his speech before it could sound again. Yet this hand wasn't soft and sweet like yours. It was cold and bony, with skin like dry, rubbery leather, and claws that ominously traced upon and dug into his skin. And those claws found a similar feeling to their own flesh.

Not long now...

" _Josh...we must be quiet...or she'll find us. Hush..."  
_ "...Who...who's...?"

Josh's voice was stuttered, and nervous, even as it sounded inside his own head now. It wasn't like he could speak aloud in his current predicament anyway. However, that was alright. She still heard him, loud and clear. Their bond was just that strong.

" _You're tired Josh...you're so pale..."_

Hannah's face gradually began to show itself, as his glazed eyes focussed, and his Wendigo gaze revealed her to him. Even in this skewed vision, she was ever so horrifying. Yet his twisted mind began to see her former self, instead of the hideous monster she had been replaced with.

A bald scalp was suddenly laden with thick, dark locks. Bulbous bluish eyes turned smaller, and innocent again, even if she still looked strange without her glasses. Her lips returned to some kind of normality, no longer peeled back to accommodate large, shark-like teeth. And her skin grew rosy and warm again, ceasing to be so taut around her bones. Her hand turned plush around his jaw, as she gently slipped it away, letting him part his lips and breathe the dank air into his stifled lungs again. His voice now sounded aloud, though Hannah would have heard it in all forms.

"Hannah..."  
" _You haven't been eating...have you Josh?"_

He looked aside, and subconsciously curled his arm closer to his stomach. Admittedly, there was an empty, gnawing feeling there, and the more he thought about it, the more the organ seemed to twist and curl inside him. How had he been able to ignore this? It hurt...it was torturous...

" _You're making your sisters worry, Josh. You don't want to make us worry, do you?"  
_ "...Sisters?"

Josh stared at her with bewildered eyes, and she gave him a charming smile, before pointing over his shoulder with a slender, decidedly human finger. He slowly turned to see what she was indicating, and his eyes went even wider when he saw her standing there.

Beth. But she wasn't grotesque and deformed as he usually saw her. She looked just as human as Hannah did, perhaps even healthier than she had when she was alive. She gave him that warm smile too, the kind that made his aching eyes tear up.

"Beth..."  
" _Josh...Hannah's right...we're both so worried about you..."_

Her voice was cloying and concerned. Even in life she had never sounded so kind and caring as she did now. The tears that had welled now rolled down his cheeks.

"I...I don't know what to do...I don't..."  
" _You need to eat something Josh...you're going to get sick if you don't..."  
_ " _We don't want that Josh...we don't want you to die too..."  
_ " _Though we never really did die, did we Josh? We're always here...we're here to help..."  
_ " _So just do what we say...that's all..."_

Their voices were starting to sound similar. Of course, they were twins, so this had always been the case. Yet even Josh couldn't tell them apart anymore. And their figures were fading from sight, his own vision clouding with a thick shadow and obscuring their forms. His fingers went to his temples and he dug his knife-like nails right through them, ignoring the warm treacle that spilled out. He doubled over, and his maw hung open, but rather than a wretched scream, the only thing that emerged from his throat was a struggling moan.

" _Poor Josh...poor poor Josh..."  
_ Just Hannah now.  
" _Eat something Josh..."  
_ Her hand was snaking up his face again.  
" _Eat **her** Josh..."_

It didn't feel human at all.

…

"...Josh...I-"

Your throat was tight. The phone receiver felt boiling hot, as it pressed against your ear. Your parted lips hovered over the speaker, yet the sentence turned to sand on your tongue. What could you say that would justify it? How could you possibly apologize to him after what had happened, when apologies would never be enough?

You didn't know what it was like to lose a sibling. You had always been an only child, and the only loss that had ever happened in your family was a distant aunt dying peacefully in her sleep one night. Hardly traumatic.

As you stood there in the hallway of your house, plush carpet underfoot and the dim sound of the TV in the living room serving as a backing track, you were awash with a rotten feeling of guilt. Weren't you just phoning him up to get the weight off your mind? Didn't you just want to...set this all aside and...move on with your own, perfect little life?

Yeah. Just forget what happened. Forget that you and Hannah were ever friends. Same with Beth. Forget about them both, and just _move on._

You stared at the wall. Your parents proudly kept your grades displayed there, for anyone and everyone to see. Right there in the entryway to your house. Even the broadband man had been privy to your grand achievements, when he had come over this afternoon. At this rate, you were on track for your number one university choice. You had the chance to do your dream degree.

...And who did you have to thank for that?

Oh yeah. The girl who had sat with you in class and helped you answer every question that stumped you. The girl who had invited you over on Thursday evenings for cheerful study sessions, sitting with you on her bed and sharing chips while you both mulled over equations. The girl who had sat on that very same bed and confessed her love for a certain ladies man.

The girl who you wanted to _forget._

"[Y/N]...are you...are you there?"  
Josh sounded confused, and a little worried, on the other end of the line. No wonder too. You had been standing there in silence, refusing to proceed for a good few minutes now. What had you even been about to say?

"Josh, I'm really sorry about your sisters, anyway, wanna go see a movie this weekend?"  
Or how about...  
"Josh, I am so sorry about what happened. Lets go have some drinks to take the edge off, yeah?"  
Or even...  
"Josh, I've been thinking, maybe the best thing we can do is just move on. Beth and Hannah would want that."

Yeah. Magically making it all better with a single phonecall. Bandaging all wounds.  
Who did you think you were?

"Are you still there? [Y/N]?"  
"..." You paused for a moment, before finally clearing your throat, and forcing out an answer. "Um...yeah...sorry, I just heard a noise and I was...uh...anyway-"  
You swallowed thickly, before boldly pushing onward,  
"-I...really don't know what to say. Except...I'm sorry."

Josh went silent.

You cringed a bit, already convinced you had selfishly messed up, but proceeded anyway. The hole was probably already too deep to get out of, even if only after a handful of words.  
"And I know that 'sorry' doesn't make up for anything, and I wish I could go back and just...turn back time and just...make it all... _un-_ happen, y'know? I was such a...a fucking coward and I-"  
Your voice cracked, and when Josh heard it, he quickly cut you off.

"[Y/N], don't cry, please. You don't have anything to feel bad about, okay? I don't blame you for anything." He let out a little sigh, before continuing. "Is this why you called? To apologize?"  
"...Yeah..." You sniffed, holding the phone away from you while you wiped your eyes on your baggy sleeve, before returning to it. "Yeah, yeah I...I just felt like I ought to say something. But I know it's not enough."

"...Thanks, [Y/N]."  
Your moist eyes widened.  
"I'm sure that...that they would he happy to hear that. And I'm sure that they don't...hold any grudges or anything..." He sounded like he was struggling to speak about them, but he too pressed on. It wasn't an easy conversation on either end.  
"-And it's funny that you should phone, actually, because I was thinking that...y'know, I know it's still the start of the year but, maybe we could all get together for our...winter getaway again? Next year?"

There was another long silence over the phone. You could hear your dad putting plates away in the kitchen.  
"...Are you sure Josh? You don't have to force yourself-"  
"No I, I want to. I think it would be good if we could all, y'know-"

You took a sharp breath as he finished.

" _-move on._ "

…

When you saw them, you flinched, and were silently thankful that you hadn't moved earlier. Seeing Josh was, of course, a relief. But seeing Hannah with her claws around him wasn't so comforting. You had finally found him, conveniently here in this elevator room. But he was in the palm of his sister, and you knew she'd be making him dance soon enough. He was already practically on his knees and groaning, his monstrous hands clawing and gripping at his face.

Blood.  
Trickling down to his jawline...

You grit your teeth angrily while you watched the Wendigo cooing to him. You didn't know what she was saying, since all you heard was a twisted little series of grunts and yelps. But whatever she was saying, he was listening. And his eyes were darting madly, and he looked scared. And you wanted to rush forth and hold him close but you couldn't.

There you stood, rigid and still, like a coward. Hannah wouldn't notice you, so long as you kept quiet and didn't move. But the longer you remained in your place, the more time she had to corrupt the mind of that innocent boy. Her deformed, jagged fingers ran through his dark hair in a petting motion, as she appeared to be comforting him. You tensed further, as her spidery body circled around him, her mouth pulled into a horribly wide and twisted smile.

You couldn't watch this.

"HEY!"  
Such a simple word, yet her eyes were on you in a millisecond. However, she let out no hideous scream, nor did she dart towards you with the superhuman speed you had come to expect from these creatures. No, instead, she simply calmed her initial alertness, and instead turned her eyes onto Josh instead.

Josh...  
No...

Not Josh.  
The boy that slowly stood and lowered his frantically scratching hands away from his temples, who inhaled deeply and gradually pivoted his body to face yours, whose clouded eyes glowed just as bright as the glow in the elevator...was not Josh.

Not anymore.


	11. Chapter 10

**Penumbra  
** **[Josh/Wendigo!Josh x Reader]** **  
**

 **Chapter 10 [FINAL]**

* * *

 **A/N:** To all my reviewers, followers, favoriters and readers- thank you!

* * *

'Move on.'

Such plain words, yet they haunted you now like nothing else possibly could. If only you had heeded such wise advice, you wouldn't have found yourself in this terrible position.  
About to, quite literally, be ravaged into little meaty chunks, by the boy who would have once sacrificed his final breath for you.

There was no sacrifice here, except for your own.

Didn't it come with the package though? You had envisioned yourself as the brave hero who didn't give up on a friend, someone who would save this poor little Wendigo-tinged puppy and bring him back home. Sacrificing yourself in the process? Well...that only made it all the more noble, surely. One for the history books.

Yet there was one problem with that little power fantasy of yours.  
Fear.

A black and inky mass crawled and writhed inside of you, tensing your chest and holding your heart still. As his shadow fell over you, his tall form having finally made its way over to your smaller, trembling one...your limbs were taut and paralysed. He likely couldn't have felt it when his large, roughly skinned hand wrapped around your plush face and held it in a vice-like grip...but your skin was just as icy as his, and it wasn't just due to the temperature in the air.

Your blood was frozen.  
Your body was frozen.  
And time also seemed that way too.

It literally slowed down as you looked up into his eyes. Gone were those kind yet slightly mischievous orbs you knew. Now you saw nothing but a distorted cerulean hue, a mask of fog on each staring ball, through which you could catch nary a glimpse of any humanity.

His hand felt larger now, no doubt due to the thick and sharp nails he had grown. It engulfed your visage, and those nails themselves dug deep into your spongy cheeks, drawing forth a scarlet river of blood on one side, rivulets of red which dribbled down and dripped from the edge of your jaw. As if immediately intoxicated, Josh's lips parted, though it was hard to notice what with all those elongated teeth of his.

And he let out a moan, which would have aroused you once, but now did little but make you whimper.

He drew you close with his hand alone, your limp body stumbling towards his with ease. His grip shifted slightly so your cheek was fully exposed to him, and he pinched it to prompt forth more of that delicious liquid. His other hand cupped your hip, forcing you to stay pressed against him, even though you couldn't have left if you wanted to.

Your frightened eyes darted away from him for just a split second, but you saw enough. Hannah was crouched in the background, grinning sickly with that Cheshire Cat smile of hers. If she could have laughed with that rattled voice, she would have.

It was all a game to her, and what better way to win, than to let your own beloved boy eat you for lunch? It was almost hilariously twisted.

Josh leaned down close enough over you that you could feel his breath gracing your fresh little wound. Something long and moist dragged across it, and you realized he was licking you. It stung.

After a single taste of your blood, Josh was ready to take the plunge. His other hand shot up from your hip to your hairline, and yanked your head sharply to the side, at an angle which could have almost broken your neck, and seemed like it nearly did from the way you yelped.

Your soft and slender neck was fully exposed to him, veins bulging at the surface as it was forced into such a painfully bent position. He could practically see the cells swimming beneath the pale surface, practically waiting for him to drink them up. And he would...oh he would. Hannah was dead sure of that.

Eyes tearing up before eventually shutting, your senses were overpowered by the manner in which Josh was handling you, mingled only with the feeling of your own hot tears travelling down your face and joining the stream of hotter blood. Perhaps it had only felt like ice inside of you, for Josh's tongue was greeted with a sweet warmth as soon as he lapped it up. A sweet taste too, which seemed to sum you up perfectly.

His hold was rough. His free arm wrapped around your back, but it was more tight than snug, and definitely not for comfort. He just wanted to keep you there, just in case your weakened body was struck with a sudden bout of energy or anything. His hand tugging on your scalp was, of course, blindingly painful. Yet none of it really seemed to fully register with you, at least not enough to get a reaction. All you could feel was a single sorrow. A regret.

Why didn't I just 'move on'?

 _Because you're stupid._

What a hideous final thought.

Josh opened his maw slowly, deliberately, widely over your entire neck. A hot gust of air rushed over your skin, as his mouth lowered to it. Those signature teeth pressed down onto your flesh, threatening to pierce through it. And they almost did-

-But something made him...stop.

A memory of his own.

A girl. [H/C] hair and [E/C] eyes.  
Nothing about you really...stood out that much. Not at first anyway. You were pretty, of course, but little else really...leapt out at him.  
Until you opened your mouth. Until you took action.

You spoke so confidently, yet without arrogance. You were just as brave as Sam, perhaps even braver in some ways, even if you didn't wear the yoga pants. Yet you were sweet and vulnerable at the same time. You were such a perfect amalgamation of traits, and even your flaws (like your tendency to act first and think later) were rather endearing.

He was smitten...but trying to think.  
Did he know you?

"This...doesn't make sense..."  
" _IGNORE IT JOSH!"_

It really didn't. Why was he seeing this now? Who was this girl, and why had she appeared so suddenly in his mind's eye? He was trying to eat, for fucks sake.

She looked sad. She looked scared. That bravery seemed to have faded, and that meek little side of her was having a field day. He wondered what she was suddenly so afraid of. He wondered what could make her eyes go so wide, her lips tremble so. What could make her look so small...

"Who...who is she?"  
" _She's NOTHING! She's NO-ONE!"_

She was someone...  
Someone he knew well. Someone who had been there for a long time.

He sought a name, desperately so. Any name at all that would fit that face. The missing piece to this mental jigsaw he was playing.

If she were a stranger, he wouldn't be feeling this heat in his cheeks, this tingle on his skin, nor this heavy thumping in his chest. No...

...The only stranger here, was the one inside his head.

" _JOSH!"_

Blood trickled down her cheek. It pooled by her feet.  
And he remembered.

Hannah had introduced you to him once. She had told him that you were her classmate, and something of a study buddy too. She had praised your intelligence openly, and he had watched you instantaneously deny it, flapping your hand around in a cartoonish manner and scoffing at the mere suggestion.

He had also watched that rosy hue growing in your cheeks the more you spoke with him, and the way your eyes averted from his so often, the way your voice slightly stumbled on a stutter you didn't usually have. You grew out of it fairly quickly, but he never forgot it.

It was hard to forget something that reminded him so much of himself.

[Y/N].  
You made him nervous. You made him anxious. He always wanted your approval, yet didn't grovel. He would teasingly suggest and allude to things, but he always encapsulated these secret little confessions in terribly crafted jokes. He had always been too shy to be honest with you...even though a big part of him knew that you were exactly the same.

Kindred spirits, right?  
Well, companions like that didn't up and eat each other, did they?

When Death was looming over you with such menace, yet still taking his sweet time to finish the job, it was hard to know exactly how to react. That whole saying of 'your life flashing before your eyes' didn't really seem so accurate now. You saw nothing. No sudden images. No sorrowful or regretful flashback reel. Nothing. You would think it rather anticlimactic, if you had been thinking at all in that moment.

Yet your mind was just blank. A white and empty canvas, a barren wasteland. Perhaps the privilege of seeing your short time on this earth in 35 mm was something reserved only for those whose end would come quickly. You knew yours would be gradual, and utterly agonizing to boot. Josh would take his time with you, you could tell that much already from the fact that your head was still attached to your neck.

It was certainly a dire time if the thought of decapitation seemed promising...

Even so...Josh _was_ taking an _awfully_ long time to do this. He had grabbed you so suddenly, started licking you like you were at 100th base, yet you were still alive in his hold. And with your eyes still closed, you could feel another strange thing.

A fresh, warm moisture was dripping onto your cheek, only adding to the mess of blood and tears that was already there. At first, you assumed it was maybe some sort of feral drooling on his part. Then you pondered the possibility of said liquid just being cave water that had dripped down from the ominously hovering stalactites above. But it was too hot for that...and as some dribbled to the corner of your mouth, you could taste salt.

Tears. Tears that weren't your own.

Though still frightened, and hesitant as hell, you slowly let your eyelids part, those tearfully twinkling orbs of yours settling on a dim darkness again, taking their time to adjust. Yet eventually, you could see that red light again. That beacon of hope.

Yet...though you looked for them, those spots of bright blue were gone.

Figures came into view again, gradually. One crouched, deformed, hideous. The other...well...you had always found him handsome. And even if his features were distorted so, you still saw him there. The same boy you had always known.

Crying.

His grip loosened, ever more and more, until it left you entirely, and your body flew down to the stone below. You caught yourself on the mine floor with a well-placed palm, and slowly turned your shocked gaze up to him again, your own eyes glimmering with similar emotion.

He looked so sad. He looked like _he_ had regrets, big ones, and hell, no wonder. Yet with that simple, sorrowful look he gave you, while he looked out at your weakened body lying there at his feet, you immediately forgave him. Call it foolish, call it a romanticist ideal, but some part of you knew that he was there again.

He had vanished for a while, but he was there.

And that boy you knew narrowed his eyes soon enough, turning his sharp and menacing gaze round and onto a different target entirely.  
Hannah.

The Wendigo girl let out a low and guttural grumble in her elongated throat. Her haunches lowered further to the earth, as she seemed to be coiling herself up like some sort of fleshy spring, ready to pounce on Josh with teeth and all the moment he took a single step towards her. Whatever sibling love that had still lingered there before was gone now. Merely two opponents, who both wanted to win badly.

And perhaps you were the prize in this situation. Josh wins, you are spared, and get to escape with the man you came here for in the first place. Hannah wins...well, the obvious was obvious.

With salted moisture still staining his pallid cheeks in grey trails, Josh rushed towards her in a blur of blue. You watched as he left you in his dust, his speed alone in that moment proving to be utterly mesmerizing. Even if his human side, his moral judgement had returned, he still retained those bold Wendigo qualities. And in the current circumstance, they could possibly prove to be an advantage...

Then Hannah's arm met his stomach, and you watched his once strong and bull-like body go flying like a sodden ragdoll into the nearest uneven wall. His body hit it with a sickening crack, though with his strength and thickened skin, he probably didn't break any muscles. Still, to call this a decent situation would be the lie of the century.

"JOSH!"  
You cried when you saw him crumble, but realized your err when Hannah's terrifying eyes darted over to your figure. Of course...she had to claim her 'prize' after all.

Watching her rush towards you, you understood how it must have felt to be in her position just moments ago. But unlike her, you were without any defence. You were so weak...you had never felt so weak in your life as when you stood there, and watched her gangly and twisted figure making a darting path straight for you. Her yellowed claws stretched out for you as she took one last leap from the ground, breaking out of her run and into a full on jump. Her body splayed out before you, and it would have looked almost comical, had it not been the most frightening moment of your life.

 _I'm going to die.  
_ You were sure of it.

Yet fate intervened again, your luck given a sudden and unexpected extension as Josh's hand snatched around Hannah's ankle and yanked her back away from you. Her hovering body was sent flipping back into part of the metal fence, denting it beyond practicability with a heavy CLANG. Thankfully, he had managed to recover from the initial attack, and though winded, he still managed to shout one word to you, eyes as wide and almost as scared as your own.

"GO!"

Go. Go? Go where?  
Away from here? And leave him?  
Just abandon the guy who you had come all this way for, been through all that shit for, in order to save?

Yes, you were utterly terrified. But you were still you.  
And 'you' was a stubborn person.

As soon as you shook your head, Hannah sprung forth from the shadows again and landed on his back. Josh gasped as he was pinned to the stone with a THUD, dust clouds billowing up around their wrestling bodies. He continued to cry for you to leave while he struggled with her, but you knew you couldn't. You would never forgive yourself if you did. This would all be for naught.

Once upon a time, you had ventured out into the woods in search of a ravenous Wendigo, with only Chris and a Flamethrower Man to accompany you.

...Flamethrower...

Your eyes suddenly widened. This mine was defunct, sure, but that Stranger had patrolled it for many years since. Mike had mentioned how the late mysterious man had stored his things (and his wolves) up at the Sanatorium. That probably didn't mean there was much to find down here, but surely he kept spares of some sort.

Hedging your bets, you stumbled around in the darkness, using only the light from the elevator and your eyes' best abilities to see where you were going. Josh and Hannah continued to scrabble among themselves, with your mutual enemy kept busy enough to allow you at least a fraction of time for searching. Considering you had almost died just moments ago, it was more than you could ask for.

Your hands frantically scrambled through the dirt around you, as you haphazardly half-crouched your way along. It was hard to get your bearings when there was so little light, and when what light there was was such an obnoxious colour. But just thinking of Josh getting killed in his current confrontation was enough to make you persevere. You didn't have time to complain or struggle on your path. You didn't have time to be picky about what you touched, even if it ended up being a dead body. You were going to find _something_.

You _would_ save him.

Yet your luck seemed to have run out. Even behind the fences and little nooks and crannies, you found nothing of use. No flamethrower, no torches, not even a sizeable stick to which you could tie part of your clothing. You would struggle to light something like that anyway, given that there was no fuel or any sign of even the smallest lighter.

Nothing.

You heard Josh let out a cry of pain just as you were about to give up, and knowing you had to think fast, you decided to leave it and just go back with balls alone. As you stood up properly again and readied to rush off, you nearly tripped over something hard, which made clang when the toe of your shoe met it. Looking down and squinting, you saw, half-buried in the darkness, that broken ladder.

Which made you a little nervous, considering you remembered seeing it being rather close to a gaping pit. Yet it would probably serve as some sort of rusted weapon at least, so you knelt down and picked it up, brushing your fingers against something hard and plastic in the process.

Frowning, you lifted the ladder up from the dirt a little, and while your occupied arm ached with the strain (you hadn't expected the thing to be quite so heavy), your free hand felt around, eventually settling around that plastic object again, clasping it and lifting it up to your face.

It was light in your grip, and seemed innocent enough at first. Yet as you held it closer to your gaze, you could make out the shape of it. Like a gun. A flare gun.

You almost gasped with delight, but caught yourself. You didn't want to alert Hannah (even though from the sounds of it, things were still going on her end), but more importantly, you didn't want to get your hopes up. That was a bad habit to adopt in a place like this. It had probably been used already, if it was lying here like this.  
Unless someone dropped it.

Either way, it was either this, or the ladder. Given how your other arm felt like it was just about ready to fall off, the choice was fairly obvious.  
You just hoped that Plan A worked. Because that was all you had.

Josh grunted again as Hannah's claws dashed and gashed through his skin, her sharp touch being polished enough to cut through even the thickest Wendigo flesh. It made him wonder just how many of her own kind she had killed. It was clear she stood at the top.

He coughed when she flipped him over again, his already wounded back hitting the ground hard again. Of course, all these injuries would heal eventually, but his body had too much to focus on in the moment to worry about that. Even the pain was becoming secondary to his desired victory. All he kept thinking of was you. How he never wanted to see you looking so scared again, either because of him, or Hannah. And he knew who was the bigger risk.

Hannah bared her teeth even more than usual, which was quite the feat, as she unhinged her jaw and roared angrily at him. Josh barely flinched, too used to the monster already inside of him. But his eyes did widen when he looked past his opponents' face, and saw you standing over her.

"Get off him..."  
You hissed lowly, even though your voice still shook some. It was a worthy effort nonetheless, and it certainly got her attention.

All you saw was a flash of her eyes as she leapt for you.  
All you heard was Josh yelling your name.

And all you saw was a bright flash of red.

…

Dusk.

You had never realized how mesmerizing it could be. Mostly because you'd typically be curled up under the sheets of your bed at this time of day. That kind of mundane life seemed so distant now after all that had happened, but maybe one day you'd be able to feel that kind of comfort again.

Your breath steamed up the cable car glass a bit while you leaned close to the window and gazed at the setting sun. Slowly you raised your sleeve to the moisture and dabbed it away, before yawning sleepily, and turning away when the light hit the horizon and grew too bright to handle.

Beside you, Josh sat there. You kept pinching yourself, wondering how the hell, and if you really had managed this. It felt like a dream, and the dimming light was doing little to help. It was freezing in the car, it hurt to even sit down, but your body felt numb to any kind of minor discomfort like that. The fact that it was even running this smoothly, and that you could see the bottom station steadily approaching in the distance, was enough to make you happy.

Besides the obvious. Even though it didn't quite feel real yet, you were beyond glad to have Josh back with you. Of course, his Wendigo features were still hellishly prominent, something which you figured you could fix with a balaclava, which you were sure you'd find among the ski-equipment at the base. Yet even though he looked far from it, something about him looked surprisingly human, as he sat there and stared ahead in a daze.

When you had both initially emerged from the mine, his eyes had barely been able to handle the light of the ending day. However, they had cleared a little now, and he merely seemed encapsulated by the sight before him. It had to feel good, to finally leave that filthy mine behind, to feel fresh air on your skin. Even as you had both trudged through the snow in silence, not sure what to say about what had just happened, only wanting to leave as quickly as possible...there had been an air of tranquillity about it.

He wasn't upset about what you did to Hannah. In fact, it seemed as if he had already given up on her. As if he had finally come to terms with the fact that _she_ simply wasn't there any more.

A flare couldn't kill a Wendigo, so that twisted version of her would likely remain up there on Blackwood Mountain for years to come, feasting on deer and searching for souls, watched only by the dead eyes of her rotting sister. It was a little sad, but you didn't feel pity for her. Hannah died that night at the lodge. Simple as.

You had your memories. Now it was time to take Josh's advice.

Speak of the devil, he finally, wearily, looked over at you. In the remaining sunlight, he gained a little colour in his skin, and you began to see more and more that you recognized. When he gazed at you, you could see that his appearance was also improving. Just gradually, tiny little details like his teeth looking a little shorter, his eyes actually showing pupils again, the suture in his mouth shrinking slightly. Again, not much, but he was actually able to smile softly while he looked at you.

And when he spoke, you were surprised to hear his voice as clear as a bell. No broken speech, no guttural croak.

"...Thank you..."

A few tears pricked around your eyes, and you quickly looked down to blink them away. It wasn't time to get soppy. You had both been through the emotional grinder for long enough today.  
When you looked back up at him again, you smiled too.  
"No problem. But really, I should be thanking you." You sighed slightly, and reached over, resting your hand on top of his thigh. The fabric was slightly damp.

"You saved me from Hannah, _and_ from yourself. Hell-" You chuckled in slight disbelief, squeezing his leg. "-I don't even know exactly why you stopped. You were this close to eating me..."

Josh still struggled to find some of the words, but since his spoken word was improving already, he managed to talk competently with enough concentration.

"I stopped because...I...saw a girl I...didn't recognize. Not just...because of the Wendigo thing...even when I knew it was you...you weren't the same...brave girl...I knew. And I realized that...I had made you that way. As I had changed, so had you. And I had to stop myself. I couldn't bear to see you like that." He looked you straight in the eyes. "I wanted my brave and...and beautiful girl back. That's why I...stopped."

Call it cliché, but when he said that, your heart just about flew out your throat. It was a little strange to be seduced by a half-Wendigo, but when it was Josh, you weren't complaining. Josh calling you 'beautiful'...was something you could have only imagined before. Now he was really saying it, and you weren't quite sure how to appropriately react.

So you awkwardly stuttered:  
"H-hey, am I in a Korean drama or something? Seriously, this is next level romantic."

Josh smirked, just slightly, and let out a sound that was close to a chuckle. His hand rested atop yours, giving it a squeeze just like you had held his thigh. His palm was cold, but you didn't mind. It warmed up soon enough thanks to you, as you let go of him and turned your hand around to embrace his.

Holding hands. Adorable.  
But really, that was what you wanted. You were done being the tough girl for a while. Fuck it, you deserved a sickly sweet sunshine relationship after all you had been through, Josh too.

But you knew you wouldn't have that. Not with him.

Though the air and the light and your own company and comfort was doing wonders for Josh's state, neither of you knew how far that would go. While his wounds would heal, there was still a good chance that he would never fully recover physically, and even if he did, the memories and mental damage would always be there. It was the same in your case.

And for the others too...

"...I...never got to ask you...but...how are the rest of...the guys?" Josh seemed to read your mind.  
Biting your lip, you hesitated slightly, before letting out another sigh and looking straight ahead. The station was still a ways yet.

"Well, let's see here." You hummed, before continuing. "None of us really did so well after what happened. I mean, we were really happy to be alive, and lucky for that matter. But it really took a toll on us all."  
Your eyes glazed a little.  
"Matt and Emily are at odds with one another, because apparently he abandoned her in the mine or something. But it turns out that Emily is pregnant, so I'm guessing they had some fun at the cable car station, or something-"

You paused to look at Josh, who seemed unfazed. Yeah. Emily getting pregnant wasn't really surprising. It was more surprising that she hadn't fucked Mike and caused a Dr. Phil style feud among the three of them.  
"-So yeah, even though they hate each other, they're probably gonna have to stick together now. Matt's a good guy, he's not going to abandon his kid."

Josh let out a disgruntled grumble, and you nudged his arm with a pout.  
"Hey come on, no more of that. Anyway...you'll be glad to hear that Chris and Ash hooked up. So your plan sort of worked...in the end. Plus it means I'm not at risk of any Chris action either."  
You studied his reaction, and were happy to see what looked like a smug smile tugging at the corners of his broken lips.

"And that leaves Mike. Well, he's off the table too, since Jess was really messed up after the incident-" Your expression turned solemn. "The scars on her face will never heal-"  
You hesitated to call Josh lucky,  
"-It's such a shame, she was so pretty before. She's still pretty now, don't get me wrong, but I know she's really upset about it. At least Mike is loyal as all hell. He hasn't left the hospital for a single minute."

Your Wendigo companion seemed pretty chuffed to hear that you weren't going to be swept up by any other handsome prince, though you knew that the final update wouldn't be easy for him to swallow.  
"...Sam..." You clasped your hands and stared down at your quivering fingers. "...She...she's not the same."

Josh tensed, and you carried on.  
"She's not the same now. It all...everything really messed with her head. Even when she smiles, she doesn't look right. There's something in her eyes...Anyway, she's seeing a psychologist at the moment, but I don't know how much of a help he is to her."  
You bit your bottom lip.  
"I guess all we can do is just...hope that she gets better."

There was a bitter silence for a moment, but Josh nodded, conceding to that fact. Sam was as much his friend as she was yours, and the both of you had always been close with her. But if the two of you could escape an overpowered Wendigo and an entire maze of mines together, then maybe there was a chance...

The station was close now. Deciding to lighten the mood, and take what chance you had, you leaned a little closer.  
"Anyway, I'm all yours now. So..."  
He blinked, and leaned just a tad closer too. His voice was soft, almost a whisper.  
"So..."

You couldn't believe you were doing this. Giving his hand another tight squeeze for confidence, you simply took the plunge.

"We're alone together...the sun is setting. It's all very romantic..." You were close enough that your nose was brushing his.  
"Just in case the cable car falls and we burn in a fiery wreck, maybe you should kiss me now."

Josh flushed. He went such a healthy shade of beet red that it was actually really reassuring.  
"Are you...sure you want to...kiss me like this? I mean..." He indicated his teeth, and you let out a faux half-hearted sigh, letting go of him and sitting back again.  
"Well if you didn't want to, you could have just sai-"

He pulled you back over before you could finish, your chest slamming up against his, and your lips only inches away. Though still a little flustered, Josh closed his eyes, and you smirked. His honest side could be very submissive at times.

Leaning up, your lips delicately pressed to his. Despite his ruined jaw, it was a soft, sweet kiss, and you couldn't feel any teeth or taste any blood. His hand caressed your cheek and pulled you a little deeper into it, curling around the back of your neck, without any clawing sensations.

Any other person might have been afraid to open their eyes again. To realise that what they imagined was still a partial monster. But not you.

When the cable car reached the station with a rocking clunk, and your lips parted, your eyes opened and settled on him again. Yes, he was still the way he was...with his Wendigo eyes and his Wendigo teeth and his Wendigo claws.  
But you knew it right then and there...

You didn't care.

* * *

 **A/N:** Observant readers will notice that I changed the canon slightly in regards to the flare gun. I wanted Reader-chan to use this during the finale, since a torch and oil would have been a little anticlimactic (and a flamethrower would have been way too convenient/ridiculous XD). In the game, if Emily keeps the flare gun, Matt dies, and if Matt keeps it, he uses it in self defence. I always felt this was a pretty unfair choice, since it's especially opaque to first-time players. So, I've made it that Emily took the flare gun (dropping it when the ladder broke), but Matt still survived, either by running from the Wendigo or just not encountering it at all.

It was kind of refreshing to give the Reader some personality and backstory in this case. I normally don't do this to such a degree, but I think it was necessary for this fic. After all, I have to justify why anyone in their right mind would go back to that mountain, even for Josh's sake. So, I made her brave, and it became more of an integral theme than I initially intended, but I was happy with that. Even if she's not relatable to everyone, I hope you as the real reader were still able to feel immersed. I suppose it's the feeling you get when you play the actual game.

Also, I typically write from female perspectives (because I'm a girl), but I may dabble in male or gender neutral Readers in the future. Some male readers have apparently really enjoyed this fic though, so I'm happy to hear that :) I'd like to think my work is accessible to everyone. Except people who hate Rami Malek. Who I refuse to believe exist, and if you do, then get out.

A quick note on the title too- _Penumbra_. A penumbra is basically a partial shadow, like an eclipse. There's light there, but also a lot of darkness. I think that's an apt analogy for Josh's physical and mental state in this fic.

I also wanted to end this somewhat happily. There's still a lot of uncertainty about the future, and it's quite clear that Josh will never be the same again, but I just couldn't bear to end it on a sad note. He deserved to escape :')

Anyway, thank you for all the support! Look forward to the next fic~


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